10 - Rewilding in the UK: Harm or Justice?

Summary

Introduction

One feature of the Anthropocene – the proposed name of the current geological epoch because of the noticeable, significant and damaging effects humans have had and are having on the planet (Crutzen 2002) – is the significant loss of biodiversity and increased rate of extinctions. One million species face extinction due in part to overexploitation and illegal trade of wildlife (IPBES 2019) and the rate of extinctions (largely the result of human actions) is 100 to 1,000 times higher than at other points in history (Wilson 2016). Whereas debates and efforts regarding biodiversity loss and extinction are often centred on Africa, Asia and the Americas, Europe too, including the UK, is facing a biodiversity crisis. According to Sir David Attenborough, ‘It's tempting to assume loss of wildlife is a problem happening on the other side of the world. The truth is the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet and the situation is getting worse’ (The Guardian 2021). Recognition of the poor state of nature in the UK is increasing and is contributing to a rewilding movement to restore the environment. As the Chief Executive of the UK Wildlife Trusts, Craig Bennett, has said, ‘Just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency’ (The Guardian 2021).

This chapter is a side exploration emerging from a larger study (Criminal Justice, Wildlife Conservation and Animal Rights in the Anthropocene – CRIMEANTHROP – see the introduction to this collection). The study unpacked whether species justice (both at the individual and systemic level) and ecological justice (at the level of biodiversity) (White 2013) can be achieved by adapting the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), or whether justice can only be achieved when individual non-human animals are granted rights (Nussbaum 2006; Sollund 2013). (See the Special Edition of the Catalan Journal of Environmental Law for findings of CRIMEANTHROP.)