Stolen Wester Ross squirrel and otter signs prompt big-hearted public response after Ullapool alarm sounded
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A FUND set up to help replace Wester Ross wildlife awareness signs stolen as souvenirs has been inundated with donations within days.
As reported by the Ross-shire Journal, Ullapool Sea savers reported the disappearance of signs local children campaigned and fundraised for to help protect red squirrels and otters at hotspots on local routes including the A835 trunk road.
The campaign has been credited with dramatically increasing driver awareness on busy stretches of a road that also services ferry traffic between Ullapool and Stornoway and thousands of visitors to the seaside village.
There was huge disappointment when several of the signs went missing – immediately making wildlife in those areas more susceptible to danger.
A fund set up by well-wisher Hugh Harrop has raised over £1600 within a few days and helped galvanise efforts to reinstate the signs.
The JustGiving states: "In early April 2023 four Otter and Squirrel road signs were stolen in the Ullapool area. They were paid for by the Ullapool Sea Savers – a group of amazing kids in the Highlands of Scotland who love and want to protect the marine environment and wildlife in their area.
"The signs were NOT paid for by Highland Council and the children had to raise funds to buy them in the first place. This fundraiser will help them to buy new replacement signs and fittings so please give what you can afford. Thanks."
That initial campaign led to the broader development of the USS group which has gone on to highlighting the danger of plastic and cigarette butts reaching the marine environment, got involved in major litter picks and thrown the spotlight on the importance of protecting one of the area's great assets.
In response to suggestions about setting up a fund, the group posted: "Thank you @HughHarrop has set one up and we're hopefully going to replace the stolen signs (securely!) and get some new ones."
The group initially managed to convince the Scottish Government to allow and fund two signs locally but then fundraised to get additional signs up on some hot spots where the squirrels and otters were being hit.
Local tradesmen and volunteers helped put these up for free to keep costs as low as possible – but it still cost a significant amount.
Earlier in the week, it posted: "Sadly four of our signs have been stolen as souvenirs. Not only can we not afford to replace them but we also don't want to have the kids go through fundraising and doing what we think is the right thing to protect our wildlife only for them to see their hard work being stolen by people who could actually buy souvenirs from local businesses, or even buy signs from the manufacturers that we use if they really want one. (Or even buy two and give us one too as we've still lots more places we need them!)".
The fundraising page can be seen here.
