VWTImpactReport28Oct2025PT - Flipbook - Page 6
The cost of conservation
— a long-term commitment
To maximise the likelihood of sustained success, conservation interventions
require meticulous planning and long-term commitment. For example,
species restoration through animal translocations, which involves moving
individuals from one location to another, can be extremely e昀昀ective, but the
full impact may take decades to be realised as the translocated population
becomes established.
VWT translocated 51 pine martens from Scotland to Wales to enable the
species to re-establish in Wales (see Chapter 6). This successful conservation
of a slow-breeding species covered a seven-year operational period from
2014 to 2020, with a cost totalling £1.3 million. This is fantastic value for
money considering that these animals are the founding individuals of a
growing population that now stretches across the Welsh landscape and
beyond. By 2020, pine martens had expanded to a range of 2,600km2,
and by 2024 to 11,100km2, with 2025 estimates reaching 13,000km2.
This cost covered several steps.
1 Ecological and social feasibility assessments in Wales (2014).
2 Surveys in Scotland to identify populations that could sustain
the removal of su昀케cient animals (2015-2017).
3 Moving wild-caught pine martens from Scotland to pre-release
enclosures in Wales (2015-2017).
4 Post-release monitoring using telemetry to track the animals as they
explored new environments and established home ranges (2015-2018)
and trail cameras to monitor den box use (2015 to 2020, and ongoing).
5 Community engagement and con昀氀ict mitigation in Wales (2014-2020, and
ongoing). This was crucial to ensure a smooth transition from a ‘new’ species
in the environment to an accepted part of the local wildlife.
Breakdown of costs for the Pine Marten Translocation Project
Sta昀昀 time —
translocation
feasibility phase
Sta昀昀 time —
translocation phase*
Sta昀昀 time —
post-release
monitoring
Specialist contractors
— Vets
Equipment and
release site
infrastructure
Vehicles, travel and
accommodation
costs
Publicity and PR
including community
engagement
O昀케ce costs
*including time on community engagement and con昀氀ict mitigation
6
Vincent Wildlife Trust 50 Years Impact Report 2025
