Ben Hamilton
December 3rd, 2018

Share

The Dane wants to bring grew wolves back to Scotland (photo: Steve Jurvetson/Flickr)

Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen has spoken at length about his project to “rewild” the landscape of Scotland, detailing plans that could end up returning lynx, bears and wolves – not seen in the country since the fifth, 11th and 17th centuries respectively.

12 estates, 220,000 acres
Last month, the 46-year-old owner of retail giants such as Bestseller became Scotland’s biggest private landowner with over 220,000 acres in his possession.

Povlsen, who now owns 12 estates, says this is the beginning of a “200-year vision” to reclaim Scotland’s “most vulnerable, precious and mysteriously beautiful landscapes”.

Inspired by a childhood holiday, he launched his ‘Wildland’ project to restore “the Highlands to their former magnificent natural state, repairing the harm that man has inflicted on them”.

Comings and goings
Included in his manifesto are plans to get rid of the region’s “ugly and unnatural” commercial forests and also its deer.

Instead, he wants to reintroduce Caledonian pine forests, along with cranes, storks, beavers and perhaps even bears, lynx and wolves.

Povlsen believes his plans will enable endangered animals like the red squirrel, pine marten, wildcat, and wood and black grouses to flourish again.

Tanzania confident Danish aid will arrive
A Danish Foreign Ministry delegation has visited Tanzania as part of a review of the east African country’s human rights situation following reports that a leading politician wants to hunt LGBT people down as if they were wild animals. Paul Makonda, the regional commissioner for the city of Dar es Salaam, recently urged his compatriots to report homosexuals to the authorities, whilst advocating the use of social media to catch them. Denmark reacted by freezing its aid – an initial 65 million kroner. The delegation also expressed concerns for the future of democracy, the shrinking political and civic spaces, women’s rights and repressive laws. However, the Tanzanian foreign minister, Augustine Mahiga, told The Citizen it was only a matter of time before the release of the withheld aid – hinting it would occur in line with aid sent by other EU nations.

READ MORE: Denmark freezes aid to Tanzania in wake of homophobic rhetoric

US-Chinese ceasefire over tariffs “good news” – Dansk Industri
Dansk Industri has hailed the US-Chinese ceasefire over tariffs as “good news for Danish companies”. DI deputy head Peter Thagesen told DR that there were fears the trade war would “deteriorate further”. The three-month ceasefire, confirmed after the recent G20 summit in Argentina – where US president met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for talks over dinner – is particularly good news for Danish firms that produce their goods in China and mainly sell them in the US.

Queen and PM in Reykjavik for historic centenary
Queen Margrethe II and PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen were in Reykjavik on Saturday to mark the 100th anniversary of the introduction of the Danish-Icelandic federal law. “Iceland is celebrating its independence but also showing that its roots are alive,” the queen told Icelandic President Gudni Thorlacius Jóhannesson. “I feel that’s why you wanted me here in person.” Rasmussen told the DR that the occasion was “warm and cordial” and representative of the two countries’ “close, good relationship”.

Foreign Ministry warns Paris-based Danes to stay indoors
The Foreign Ministry warned Danes based in or staying in Paris to remain indoors due to the ongoing protests against the French government’s new fuel policy. The capital was like a warzone on Saturday as riots broke out. “Stay away from the demonstrations. Follow the instructions of the local authorities and keep up to date with the situation via local media,” the ministry wrote on Facebook.

Danish man didn’t know his new bride is a ‘he’ – reports 
A 54-year-old Danish man who married his ladyboy sweetheart in Thailand on Saturday apparently had no idea his sweetheart of four years and now bride is a man, reports haivisa.com. The Dane, who has been married twice before to women, never thought to ask the 49-year-old, who has lived in Denmark for the last three decades and originally comes from the Thai town of Trang.