It hardly compares in importance to the invasion of Iraq, or the fall of the dollar, or the outcome of the next election. But in some ways the decision that we are being asked to make will say more about us and the world that we choose to inhabit than any of the grand political themes.

Last week, a man called Paul Lister held a conference in Scotland. He explained that, if his plans are accepted by the public, within five years he will be able to reintroduce the wolf, the bear, the Eurasian lynx, the wild boar and the European bison to the Highlands. Similar claims have been made before, but Lister is the first enthusiast who can make it happen. He has millions of pounds and a 23,000-acre estate. He wants his land to become the core of a much larger conservation area. Another landowner, Paul van Vlissingen, has volunteered to add his 81,000 acres to the scheme. As animals such as the wolf and the lynx are smart and agile enough to escape from almost any large enclosure, this is in effect a proposal to repopulate Britain with its extinct native wildlife.” (Guardian.UK)