Threatened pine martens return to England

Across August and September the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, Forestry England, Vincent Wildlife Trust and Forest Research released 18 pine martens (Martes martes) in the Gloucestershire forest in the hope to establish a “source population”, to help support their recovery.

In the UK, pine martens are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. But due to loss of woodland, their populations have been restricted to northern and central Scotland, with some populations in southern Scotland and low numbers in northern England and Wales.