大象传媒

Two rival organisations, both aiming to secure the future of Scotland's wildcats, have entered into a debate around the filming of a wildcat in Aberdeenshire.

Footage which appeared online last week appears to show what Wildcat Haven says is a 'pure' wildcat. The animal was filmed in woodland near Huntly in Aberdeenshire. It says the wildcat matches up on the 21-point scale it uses to distinguish between wildcats and domestic cats. Furthermore, the organisation claimed the footage had been independently verified by an expert at National Museums of Scotland who had agreed with the organisation's recognition of the animal as a wildcat.

The story made headlines in the weekend's newspapers. Then rival organisation - Scottish Wildcat Action stepped into the ring. It claims that the cat is not a new discovery and that it has already recorded the one spotted in the video and that it is 'not news'.

So what do you think? Wildcat or not?

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Words and video by Chris Hitchings