Elmore Court are relatively fresh to rewilding but are very committed. Under the guidance of Alastair Driver and Rewilding Britain, they are stopping conventional agriculture, instead introducing species such as longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, red and roe deer to act as substitutes, or proxies, for the wild species (aurochs, wild boar, tarpans) that would once have grazed open areas of Britain thousands of years ago. Owner Anselm Guise is also working alongside Chairman of the Sustainable Eel Group, Andrew Kerr, to bypass blockages in the eels migratory routes downriver, releasing young eels (elvers) into the wetland onsite, the ‘Rhines’ - the drainage ditches of the once extensive Eel Moor. The elvers released during our visit were donated by Stephen Beard - a local elverman. Human-induced changes are the most significant pressures for migratory species such as eels which are classed as endangered.
