Naturalist/Mammalogist and Wildlife Historian Brief Cv

 

 Field Naturalist specialising in Mammalogy and wild canids and felids in particular.

From 1977- acted as a UK police forces advisor on exotic animals and formed the exotic Animals Register (EAR) in 1979. Also advised farmers and farmers groups as  well as other official bodies on exotics in the UK. Has cooperated with a number of UK colleges and universities including Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea. The long term project makes him the most experienced (the only) naturalist working on this matter and studying any long term effects on the ecosystem.

1976 set up the British Fox Study concentrating on UK foxes and their history which resulted in The red Paper Vol. 1 Canids (2009) and The Red Paper 2022 Vol. I Canids looking at the history of the wild canids in Britain and Ireland/Eire including foxes, wolves and other released for hunts. Extinct Canids Study is a part of the Fox Study.  Again, this is the longest ongoing study of foxes in the UK.

Has looked at extinct canids and felids and written extensively on them including Hokkaido wolf and Falklands wolf.

As part of the British Fox Study a new project was set up in 2021 -The Fox Deaths Project which is unique in that foxes that have died under unusual circumstances or with odd symptoms are submitted via Bristol University Post Mortem Services and investigative PMs carried out at Langford Veterinary School. This is the only project of its type in the UK and revealing a great deal about what, other than cars, is killing foxes.

In 1980 the Wild Cat and Hybrids Study was set up and since its inception  has made a number of breakthroughs in over 40 years (as with the Fox Study) on British and Irish wild cats and their history. Island wild cats as well as feral cat colonies are one aspect of the Study. 

1. A Method For Grading Sightings Of Non-Native Cats: Application to South and West Wales, UK: Professor  Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register.

Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

2. Exotic Cats In Britain: An Historical Perspective, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register, Proceedings of the 2^nd Eastern Cougar Conference, Morgantown, West Virginia, 2004  

3. (Contributor) Survey effort and Sighting Probabilities for Non-Native Cats in Carmarthenshire, Professor Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea, Swansea Geographer 2004  vol. 39

4. The Biography of Perceived Encounters with Pumas and Other Exotic Cats in South and West Wales, UK; Alayne Street-Perrott, Alaric B. Smith Exotic Cat Group University of Wales Swansea and Terry Hooper-Scharf Exotic Animals Register. 2004

5. Felids: Wildcats, Ferals and Hybrids, Terry Hooper-Scharf. Vale Wildlife Group, 2000

6. UK National Wolverine Population and Evidence, Terry Hooper-Scharf, Vale Wildlife Group, November 2000

7. The Red Paper: Foxes, Fox-Domestic Dog, Hybrids, Arctic Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Coyotes: An Extensive Study of Vulpes vulpes in the United Kingdom and Releases/Escapes of Non-Native Canids; Terry Hooper-Scharf.  Black Tower Books, 2011

8. The “Girt Dog” of Ennerdale: Hyena, Thylacine or Escaped Exotic Cat: A Naturalist’s Assessment of the Evidence. Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books, 2018

 9.  The Current Threat To UK Fauna And The Introduction Of New Fauna Species Terry Hooper-Scharf. Black Tower Books 2021

Popular subjects with a heavy wildlife slant to them

10. Some Things Strange and Sinister Black Tower Books, 2009

11. Some More Things Strange and Sinister Black Tower Books, 2010

12. Pursuing The Strange and Sinister: A Naturalist's Viewpoint Black Tower Books, 2012

13. Mysterious and Strange Beasts Black Tower Books, 2012

14. The Red Paper 2022: Canids

15. The Red Paper 2022: Felidae

16. The Red Paper 2025: Wild Menagerie

Six other non wildlife related books

Various other unlisted papers and articles 2000-2024

One can only make assumptions -and not good ones.

 

One thing I hear from people is "Why don't you send your books to Sir David Attenborough? He is interested in conservation so the documented extermination of British foxes and wild cats ought to interest him"

Well, I did try. Twice.  I asked Attenborough Productions in advance whether Sir David or they might be interested in copies of The Red Papers  -Canids and Felidae-and they said he/they would and Sir David "always responds" to such things.  I sent the two books. It was recorded that they had arrived but after two months I asked whether the bvooks had been received? No response.

There was a suggestion by someone that even though it said the books were delivered I ought to know that this is not always a fact. True.

Therefore I phoned Attenborough Productions to make sure that any such books would get to Sir David and was told "absolutely. Addressed to him here then he gets it no one else".  I then sent two more copies and at the same time a brief email and explaining what the books were and I even mentioned that the late David Bellamy had called the original Canids Red Paper "explosive for British wildlife history" and then I waited. And waited. A month later I emailed and asked whether they could confirm that the books had arrived? Nothing so I left it another week and phoned. The books had been received but they could not comment as they had not read them as they went to Sir David.

A month later and a polite "sorry to take up any of Sir David's time but---" email. Nothing. So I sent a letter covering things and "hoping" that the books had reached him. I knew that they had and so did my bank account from ordering the copies and sending them signed for!

Almost a year one and another polite email and nothing. I did read and hear how other books sent to him had received responses.  We know that he is involved in 're-introducing' wild cats to Scotland so the true history and the fact that the genuine wild cat was exterminated in the 1860s (fully documented) might not have sat well.

How about the fact that the proven three variations in the Old British foxes (Greyhound, Hill and Cur) were exterminated by humans through hunting and that what we see today are the results of importations going back to at least the 1600s (all documented)?  Well, we know he was great friends with many landed gentry involved in hunting and, of course, his decades of friendship with the late Queen Elizabeth ( a well known blood sport enthusiast) and he is also friends with the current King and Queen as well as Prince William and Katherine who are all blood sport enthusiasts.

The thing is that the BBC and then Attenborough Productions have full control on his image. Anything negative would not be allowed online. We know that most of his documentaries have had staged "in nature" incidents exposed but such staged scenes are common for TV natural history programmes.

Attenborough 'hunted' and trapped animals for Zoos which was a norm though that gets sort of glossed over (even if his series was called "Zoo Quest").

Even a search carried out over two weeks made it no clearer what his views on fox hunting were. Checking Google all it could come up with was:

"Sir David Attenborough has not made public statements on the specific issue of fox hunting with dogs in the UK, as his work typically focuses on the natural world and animal behaviour rather than human activities or laws like fox hunting. While he has narrated documentaries like The Hunt and The Life of Mammals, which show predators like Arctic foxes and lions hunting for survival, his commentary does not extend to commenting on human blood sports."

As one person put it to me: "Why do you think Attenborough would have been interested in your books? He is an establishment figure and on fox hunting alone he could have spoken out and ruined them all -including the pro hunt BBC people and his beloved Royalty. He is not rocking any boats"

It is unthinkable that someone so interested and promoting wildlife conservation would be happy to laugh and talk to people who go out killing wildlife for 'fun' and "bloody" their children after their first hunting kills (Harry and William). As pointed out, Attenborough has never made a clear public statement on fox hunting and if he were against such activities and for preserving British wildlife the repercussions from a public statement could destroy the 'sport'.

One can only make assumptions -and not good ones.