Dartmoor landowner who won wild camping ban may be putting rare beetle at risk

Exclusive: Alexander Darwall, who said he brought case to improve conservation, is releasing pheasants near protected woodland

The landowner who took Dartmoor national park to court to ban wild camping may be putting a rare beetle at risk by releasing pheasants next to an ecologically important woodland, against the advice of environmental experts.

This is despite him having said he pushed for a wild camping ban in order to “improve conservation of the Dartmoor commons”, arguing that campers damage the national park with litter and disturbance.