Ministers' culture wars over species reintroduction must end-expert

Culture wars by ministers around reintroducing animals such as beavers and lynx must end if we are to restore nature in this country, the head of the government's species reintroduction taskforce has told the Guardian.

- Helena Horton

Dr Andy Clements, an ornithologist who helped establish the government nature regulator Natural England, now runs the species reintroduction taskforce.

The scientist, one of those behind the hugely successful reintroduction of red kites into England, said he had been frustrated by the debate around reintroducing species as it was based on "anecdote, not evidence", when it was clear that increasing the abundance of rare and locally extinct species by releasing them into the wild could help restore nature.

The taskforce, which exists to advise the government on re-establishing species, met for the first time last year. "Our main task is to improve the quality and quantity of species reintroductions that contribute to nature's recovery and that they're done in a way that society finds acceptable or even delights about.

Which is not necessarily the case at the moment because ... there's a lot of controversy about species reintroduction," he said.