A PUBLIC consultation is underway this month ahead of the possible reintroduction of an animal not seen here since Victorian times.

Members of the public can have their say as part of a two-year project aiming to make pine martens a common sight in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean again.

The small omnivore is one of Britain’s rarest animals after being hunted almost to extinction by Victorian gamekeepers.

It is hoped that 40 of the shy creatures, which live in woodland and feed on mainly squirrels and other small mammals, birds, and berries, will be released following the consultation. Each animal would be tracked for the first year by radio collar, and there would be a detailed five-year monitoring project looking into their impact.

The project is being run by the Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust (GWT), the Vincent Wildlife Trust and the Forestry Commission.

The online consultation is available at goo.gl/D7dpeC, or alternatively, Wildlife Trust talks are being held over the winter in which visitors can have their say. The next one is with the Chepstow branch at the town’s leisure centre on 17th January at 7.30pm.

The native pine marten has in recent years most commonly been found in the north of Scotland, but in 2015 several were captured and moved to mid Wales as part of the same scheme. It is hoped that eventually the two colonies will meet and merge.

The animal, the size of common house cats, became the enemy of Victorian game bird keepers, when practices of keeping birds were different. They were hunted indiscriminately, which had a devastating impact on the population.

This study, which will be concluded in spring, will address how pine martens would impact the local ecosystem and economy, and if the area could support a stable population. It is thought that a reintroduction would have a controlling effect on the grey squirrel population, and that risks to domestic birds such as pheasants and chickens can be managed with the the same precautions used against foxes.

The reintroduction will not go ahead if the costs outweigh the benefits.