TV presenter Chris Packham warns Scotland “might be a better place to live” than England after Brexit.
The BBC Nature host – who lives in Hampshire – told The National’s sister paper, The Herald, of his appreciation for Scotland’s more pro-EU political climate.
“Seriously not happy” is how he describes his feelings about Brexit. “If certain things happen there might be a migration to Scotland because it might be a better place to live,” he said.“There is every danger that I’m not going to be a happy Englishman at some point in the future.”
Asked if he would consider moving here, he said: “Possibly. I did live in Scotland before. I don’t imagine I’ll be alone in moving.”
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Over the past year the 58-year-old has visited regularly, spending plenty of time in the Cairngorms, where Winterwatch, Springwatch and Autumnwatch were filmed.
On December 17, he will be coming to Perth to do a talk for the Royal Scottish Geographical Society about his photography.
Packham described what is going wrong, and what is going right, for nature in Scotland.
On the positive side, he cites the Cairngorms Connect project (a 200-year vision to enhance habitats and species in the Cairngorms National Park) as “the most exciting project in the UK”.
He added: “If we had a few more projects like that dotted around the UK we would all be in a better place.”
But, it’s not all rosy, he added. “Scotland has still got problems with raptors being illegally persecuted.
“We’ve still got much of Scotland given over to driven grouse moor, which is a hugely damaging process, environmentally, economically and ecologically. There are issues with the beavers on the Tay and then there’s the salmon farming – the impact that’s having environmentally.”
“What we’re doing at the moment cannot and will not continue,” he says confidently.
“There’s no doubt about that at all,” he added.
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