Everything Is Referenced And Fully Researched But...Dogma is easier

 I was asked a rather simple question (not the "How do you stop from going insane with all these wildlife issues?"): "How do you find out all of this stuff about foxes, wild cats and other species in the UK when well known (and not so well known) zoologists don't?"

The answer is quite simple. I do research. The standard for zoologists these days, as well as naturalists, is to look at old technical papers or books written by previous zoologists and you copy what they write but in your own words of course (gods forbid anyone cut and paste dogma).

Back in the 1970s I was a regular at Bristol Central Library and its reference library and newspaper archives. I would spend hours taking notes and reading through many, many pages and when it comes to old newspaper we are talking print that is virtually 5-6 point so small! I also bought books. Old books and as there was no internet back then it was the only way to learn  and discover actual real accounts of wildlife from the Middle Ages (and before) up to the 20th century.

At some point, I would say 1900, dogma kicked in. Hundreds of wild cats were killed in Scotland but they had to fit the "museum type" (as explained in Red Paper 2022 vol. II Felids) and one noted naturalist/'sportsman' after another noted how these cats -and others listed in museums as "wild cats" were nothing of the sort. People who were not field naturalists and had never seen a true wild cat declared these wild tabbies to be the Scottish wild cat and that was that. In a way you might say that this was excusable since Scottish naturalists had (in 1897) declared that the true Scottish wild cat had become extinct by the 1860s.

The 1860s are a significant period when it comes to Old British wildlife. The 19th century is called the "Golden Age of Hunting" should be known as the "Great Extinction Period" -the Old British foxes had been hunted to (knowingly) extinction with perhaps the odd specimen found in wilder countryside or mountains. Hares had been killed off across England and were then imported from Europe so that the 'sport' of hare coursing might continue. The Old red squirrel was shot out of existence and were,m of course, replaced by imports from Europe. At the same time stag and deer hunting resulted in these animals being imported to "continue the sport" and there were many others. A seal or a walrus was great fun to shoot (not necessarily kill)  and let sink into the waters. The great naturalist/'sportsman' Colquhoun once observed a rare pair of breeding eagles on his territory and immediately shot and killed one -he 'regretted' doing so after. 

When it is cited that any of these animals, today, have DNA matches with European species that is because they were imported from Europe. 

I know what you are going to ask "Well, how come the Scottish wild cat looks the same as the ones in Europe?" European wild cats were imported (and possibly bred to keep the number going) by travelling shows -as with the extinction of wolves people wanted to see what once roamed the countryside- as well as small private menageries. We know they were in collections and could be exchanged for animals a collector or show/zoo did not have. Breeding was usually not a problem and if you have a population bred and spread around you see the problem. Also, there were escapes.

Escapes were very common -everything from wolves, cats of various sizes, gorillas and monkeys and kangaroos etc. The reason was simple. Almost all the travelling shows had cages made by staff and there was a rather curious practice they had of making cage doors open inwards as well as open outwards! Also the wood used was not the bes6t quality since the idea was to make money from punters and not spend it!

Looking at taxidermy of the last generation of wild cats in Scotland (and one rare English taxidermy) we can see that by the time of their extinction they did not look anything like the wild tabby we see today -the true wild cat was 2-3 times the size of a domestic tom cat and those hunting them fitted their dogs with leather collars that had studs in them to prevent the dog being killed. It never worked all the time and even the hunters could come away with wounds. It was called "The English Tiger" and later "The Highland Tiger" for a reason.

Reading the old hunt books going back to the 18th century, plus publications and even correspondence between naturalist/'sportsmen' shows what was going on and provide good accounts of the animals. Old newspaper items led to my finding out about the UK fox breeding industry, "bagging" and re-using a fox (or jackal) to hunt several more times, stabling foxes and much, much more. Just a small column can lead you off to check other sources and make more discoveries.

I have spent a great deal of money buying old books!  Although, when it came to my work as a UK police forces exotic animals consultant I had farming colleges, universities and even museums contact me and to an extent cooperate the Old fox and wild cat work has received very little in the way of cooperation. The Natural history Museum (London) I had been in touch with regularly since the 1970s yet on wild cats and Old foxes -absolutely no cooperation and in point of fact a lot of obstruction.  

Why?

Is there fear that these establishments will be shown to have promoted dogma?  Oddly, two museums asked me whether I could identify animals in photographs they had been sent...the identifications were easy but big museum natural history sections were at a loss?

The question of whether my statements are accurate I can only respond to by stating that every single fact published has at least 2-3 (often more) references so any zoologist can quite easily check the fact. Believe me when I tell you that when I started learning all of these things I checked, double checked and even quadruple checked before I opened my mouth or put things into print.

It has taken almost 50 years of my life but I have kicked dogma out and it is up to those who are far more prominent and well placed to take things further, even if this means a lot of research work and that might put these people off.

So, that long winded answer can be cut down to: "I have done 50 years of research work and checked as many historical references as was possible. That's how I know"!