The former Desert Island Discs presenter had come under fire amid concern that dozens of the non-native herbivores on Inchconnachan island on Loch Lomond were under threat.
Young and her husband, Nick Jones, paid almost £1.6 million for the island last year and intend to create a world-class wildlife habitat and tourist attraction. They have indicated that invasive plants and grazing animals — such as deer and wallabies — may have to be “controlled” to protect trees.
The couple confirmed this weekend their preference would be to relocate the wallabies, rather than order a cull. It follows an intervention by the naturalist and television presenter Chris Packham, who cautioned against killing the animals.
“Nick and Kirsty wholeheartedly agree with Chris Packham that the relocation of the very small population of wallabies would be a really good thing to do,” said a spokeswoman. “They’ll always be led by expert opinion and do what’s best for the island’s native ecosystem.”
Packham told The Sunday Times on Friday that shooting wallabies would “court controversy” as an online petition to save the animals reached more than 4,600 signatures.
“They may be non-native but they have survived in different parts of the UK for decades and they have a cultural value,” he said. “I applaud efforts to rewild but you can’t blame the wallabies. The way to do it is to catch the wallabies and move them elsewhere, I don’t think there would be any problem finding them a new home. It’s more expensive and time-consuming but it’s better than shooting them.”
Wallabies are native to Australia and Papua New Guinea and were introduced to Inchconnachan in the 1940s by the late Countess of Arran, whose family had owned the island since the 14th century. Up to 60 wallabies are thought to roam the island.
Their presence, along with deer, has the potential to undermine a vision, set out by Young and her husband in planning documents, of restoring wet woodlands and native tree species such as oak, birch, rowan, alder, holly and hazel.
Wildlife abounds on the island previously owned by the Colquhouns of Luss. Wallabys, eagles and lynx are just a few of the species to be found on Inchconnachan.
In papers lodged with Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority, the couple outline plans to eradicate rhododendron, remove “exotic” trees such as sitka and Norway spruce and to reduce the island’s non-native species population — including animals — to “zero or close to zero”.
Top picture: VIP visitors from Canada on a visit to Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.