''Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding'' (also published as ''Feral: rewilding the land, sea and human life'') is a 2013 book by the British activist

George Monbiot George Joshua Richard Monbiot ( ; born 27 January 1963) is an English journalist, author, and Environmental movement, environmental and political activist. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and has written several books. Monbiot ...

. In it, Monbiot discusses

rewilding Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from other forms of ecological restoration in that rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also d ...

, particularly in the United Kingdom. It was first published by

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...

, a hardback imprint of the

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media company, media Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a Mergers and acquisitions, mer ...

. The book received positive critical reviews, and won several awards. It inspired the founding of

Rewilding Britain Rewilding Britain is an organisation founded in 2015 that aims to promote the rewilding of Great Britain. It is a registered charity in England, Wales and Scotland. History One of the people involved in setting up the charity was Guardian journa ...

Background

By Monbiot's own account,

was a fringe interest at the time he published the book. However, there had been attempts at rewilding in Britain such as "Wild Ennerdale" at

Ennerdale, Cumbria Ennerdale is a valley in Cumbria (in the former historic county of Cumberland), England. Ennerdale Water, fed by the River Liza, is the most westerly lake in the Lake District National Park. Due to the remote location, the lack of a public roa ...

, a project which Monbiot finds limited in scope. The word ‘rewilding’ entered the dictionary in 2011, with its definition greatly contested from the start. Initially, it was defined as releasing captive animals into the wild, but the definition was soon expanded to describe the reintroduction of animal and plant species to

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s from which they had been excised. In other circles, the term is used to indicate the rehabilitation of entire ecosystems, instead of particular species only. The definitions preferred by the author differ slightly from these, as they entail permitting ecological processes to resume (without human intervention), and embracing the fluctuations in the physical environment (instead of attempting to keep it in a state of arrested development). In summary, Monbiot defines the concept as follows: “Rewilding, to me, is about resisting the urge to control nature and allowing it to find its own way.”

Synopsis

Monbiot addresses readers who feel the urge for a wilder life and encourages them to challenge their perception of humankind’s place in the world, the world's

ecosystems An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

, and the interaction between humankind and nature. While also referencing his own experiences exploring the Welsh coastline and mountains, Monbiot looks at rewilding projects around the world, and pays particular attention to the scope for rewilding in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. He argues that

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

is a problem in the British uplands and calls for

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

numbers to be reduced so that areas can be rewilded. The author looks at the phenomenon of

British big cats In British folklore and urban legend, British big cats refers to the subject of reported sightings of non-native, wild big cats in the United Kingdom. Many of these creatures have been described as "panthers", "pumas" or "black cats". There ha ...

, supposed sightings which in his view reflect human origins in a wilder landscape. The author discusses the risks and benefits of reintroducing several species to the UK, including

beavers Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

and

lynx A lynx ( ; : lynx or lynxes) is any of the four wikt:extant, extant species (the Canada lynx, Iberian lynx, Eurasian lynx and the bobcat) within the medium-sized wild Felidae, cat genus ''Lynx''. The name originated in Middle Engl ...

, arguing that some recently extinct

megafauna In zoology, megafauna (from Ancient Greek, Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and Neo-Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") are large animals. The precise definition of the term varies widely, though a common threshold is approximately , this lower en ...

being reintroduced could provide ecosystem and economic benefits. After initial chapters that serve as an introduction to the author’s personal and academic interest in the subject matter, the content takes the form of case studies. According to the author, case studies relating successful rewilding projects around the world (

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

) serve to provide examples of good practice and offer the reader hope (that rewilding is indeed possible). In chapter 11, “The Beast Within (or how not to rewild)”, case studies of rewilding in

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Eastern Poland Eastern Poland () is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin Voivodeship, Lublin, Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Wa ...

and the Americas that occurred as result of political tyranny,

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

and tyranny serve as cautionary tales. The author strongly believes that rewilding must not be an opposition to the people who live on and benefit from the land but must be done with their consent and active engagement. Monbiot is critical of the current state of

conservation in the United Kingdom This page gives an overview of the complex structure of environmental and cultural conservation in the United Kingdom. With the advent of devolved government for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and of evolving regional government for Englan ...

and advocates for

sea rewilding Sea rewilding (also known as marine rewilding) is an environmental conservation process involving rewilding, restoring organisms and ecosystems to their natural states. Sea rewilding projects have been undertaken throughout the world and have inv ...

and expansion of

marine reserves A marine reserve is a type of marine protected area (MPA). An MPA is a section of the ocean where a government has placed limits on human activity. A marine reserve is a marine protected area in which removing or destroying natural or cultural ...

Reception

Monbiot's book received criticism from organisations representing farmers, such as the

Farmers' Union of Wales The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW), known as the in Welsh, is a member organisation that was formed in 1955 to represent farmers in Wales. History Split from the NFU Prior to the FUW, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) was the only or ...

who objected to the book's characterisation of sheep farming as environmentally damaging and the Welsh Uplands as a "slow-burning ecological disaster". On the other hand, the book received favourable reviews, including in publications normally hostile to Monbiot's work, such as ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'' and ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Many reviewers were impressed by the lyrical nature of the book's prose style. According to the ''

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

''s reviewer "something about the charm and persistence of Monbiot’s argument has the hypnotic effect of a stoat beguiling a hapless rabbit".

Awards

The book won awards from: * The

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational corporation, multinational content-driven technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and maintains its headquarters at 1 ...

Zoological Record ''The Zoological Record'' (''ZR'') is an electronic index of zoological literature that also serves as the unofficial register of scientific names in zoology. It was started as a print publication in 1864 by the Zoological Society of London, ...

Award (2013). Presented for the public communication of zoology. * The

Society of Biology The Royal Society of Biology (RSB), previously called the Society of Biology, is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom created to advance the interests of biology in academia, industry, education, and research. Fo ...

: Book Award for general biology (2014). Dr William Marshall, Fellow of the Society of Biology and chair of the judging panel, said ''Feral'' was an “important and captivating book concerning humanity’s stewardship of the earth”. * ''Orion'' magazine: The Orion Book Award for nonfiction (2015).

Outcomes

One of the outcomes of the book was the charity

founded in 2015. The debate between Monbiot and the farming community about the management of Britain's uplands continued, for example in the aftermath of the

Storm Desmond Storm Desmond was an extratropical cyclone and fourth named storm of the 2015–16 UK and Ireland windstorm season, notable for directing a plume of moist air, known as an atmospheric river, which brought record amounts of orographic rainfall ...

floods in Cumbria in December 2015. The authorities responded to the floods with engineering projects such as constructing raised linear walls and embankments along the

River Kent The River Kent is a short river in the county of Cumbria in England. It originates in hills surrounding Kentmere, and flows for around 20 miles (32 km) into the north of Morecambe Bay. The upper reaches and the western bank of the estuary ...

Kendal Kendal, once Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness, England. It lies within the River Kent's dale, from which its name is derived, just outside the boundary of t ...

, but there has also been a commitment to making use of natural

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

. A small deculverting scheme has been trialled in Kendal and upstream measures are planned "to slow the flow of water and provide wider environmental benefits across the catchment". In 2022 a programme to restore and improve rivers in the Lake District won the European Riverprize.

External links

Author's Ted Talk on rewilding

References

{{George Monbiot 2013 non-fiction books Books by George Monbiot Rewilding British non-fiction books Allen Lane (imprint) books Environmental non-fiction books Ecology books Penguin Books books Books about Wales