WE LOST 500 DEAD FERRETS.
Wildlife experts have been given the slip by 500 FROZEN ferrets.They were among 900 pesky polecats killed in a bounty hunt in the Shetlands.
But 500 of the deep frozen and long-dead animals were being hunted again last night.
Scientists at Edinburgh University - due to perform tests on them - said: "We haven't got them."
But islanders insist: "We killed them and sent them down to you."
University researchers are trying to discover what damage the animals may have caused by seeing what they have eaten.
After the isles were over-run by the hunting animals, the Shetland Crofters' and Farmers' Wildlife Advisory Group offered a pounds 10 bounty for each dead ferret locals could produce.
Islanders say 900 dead animals were frozen, stacked up and sent south for analysis.
But the university said they could only account for 400.
And 300 of those have been traced to the taxidermy department of the Royal Museum of Edinburgh where the skins and skulls have been preserved.
The mystery was revealed after councillors opposing the bounty hunt asked what had happened to the carcasses.
Red-faced advisory group officials admitted they hadn't a clue. Last night a spokesman said: "There have been one or two hiccups."
He thinks they are in a freezer at the university.
But last night, a university spokeswoman insisted: "There are only around 100 in cold store awaiting analysis.
"We have no idea where the rest are."
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| Author: | Britten, Nick |
|---|---|
| Publication: | Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Mar 13, 1998 |
| Words: | 237 |
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