We understand, from a normally reliable source, that it is planned to introduce one of the rarest species of creatures to the Coppetts Wood Nature Reserve in Friern Barnet.
Coppetts Wood (and neighbouring the Glebelands) were designated a Local Nature Reserve by the Borough of Barnet in 1997 and now much of the task of managing them is undertaken by volunteers, the Coppetts Wood Conservationists. Coppetts Wood was once part of a vast woodland known as Finchley Wood. The surviving fragment now contains a rich diversity of different habitats for wildlife and includes a section of Ancient Woodland.
It is hoped that very early next month specimens of Scotland’s national animal, the unicorn, will be introduced to Coppetts Wood.
As most will be aware, the unicorn is extremely rare, although in recent years sightings of them in the U.K. have increased. Well known recent sightings include in Sunderland, in the early hours of the morning of 24th June 2016 and most recently in London, in Westminster, where Government Ministers were reported to be demanding that the creatures should be culled- at a Cabinet meeting on 18th December last year Justice Secretary David Gauke reportedly spoke of one of the Westminster creatures as: “a unicorn that needs to be slaughtered”, adding that: ” the responsibility of Cabinet ministers is not to propagate unicorns but to slay them.” Of course, as unicorns are very popular with some people and are commonly much loved as symbols of purity and grace, comments such as those by Mr Gauke caused a degree of unhappiness to many.
Mr Gauke should have known better- as the renowned author J.K. Rowling once wrote “ it is a monstrous thing, to slay a unicorn. Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime.”
The final arrangements for the release of the unicorns in Coppetts Wood have yet to be announced, although we do understand that Mr Gauke will not be invited. We hope to have further details later.