''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 a British writer known for his environmental and political activism. He writes a regular column for ''The Guardian'' and is the author of a number of books. Monbiot grew up in Oxfordsh ...

. In it, Monbiot discusses

rewilding Rewilding may refer to: *Rewilding (conservation biology), the return of habitats to a natural state **Rewilding Europe, a programme to do so in Europe *** Pleistocene rewilding, a form of species reintroduction **Rewilding Institute, an organiz ...

, 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 conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

. 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 and Wales, and also in Scotland. History One of the people involved in setting up the charity was Guar ...

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, 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 road up the valley, and its management by Forestry ...

, 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, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

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) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

, and the interaction between humankind and nature. Monbiot looks at rewilding projects around the world, and pays particular attention to the scope for rewilding in the United Kingdom. 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 res ...

is a problem in the British uplands and calls for

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated s ...

numbers to be reduced so that areas can be rewilded. Among other topics, the author looks at the phenomenon of

British big cats In British folklore, British big cats, also referred to as ABCs (Alien, or Anomalous, Big Cats), phantom cats and mystery cats, feature in reported sightings of large felids feral in the British Isles. Many of these creatures have been describe ...

, supposed sightings which in his view reflect human origins in a wilder landscape. 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 country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, Wales, North America) 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 ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

Eastern Poland Eastern Poland is a macroregion in Poland comprising the Lublin, Podkarpackie, Podlaskie, Świętokrzyskie, and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. The make-up of the distinct macroregion is based not only of geographical criteria, but also econo ...

and the Americas that occurred as result of political tyranny,

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same 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 ...

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Latin ...

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.

Reception

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

Farmers' Union of Wales The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) ( cy, Undeb Amaethwyr Cymru (UAC)), a member organisation, was formed in 1955 to protect and advance the interests of those who derive an income from Welsh agriculture. Established in 1955, the FUW is the only ...

. 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 magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' and ''

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

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

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

''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 devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

Thomson Reuters Thomson Reuters Corporation ( ) is a Canadian multinational media conglomerate. The company was founded in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where it is headquartered at the Bay Adelaide Centre. Thomson Reuters was created by the Thomson Corpora ...

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, a ...

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 has 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 to ...

floods in Cumbria.

External links

Author's Ted Talk on rewilding

References

{{reflist 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