T in the Park bosses insisted that this summer’s festival will go ahead, despite the arrival of two protected ospreys at the site.
The future of the live music extravaganza was thrown into doubt yesterday after a pair of the birds of prey were spotted over the planned showground near Strathallan Castle.
It was claimed that promoters DF Concerts could be forced to scrap the whole event, as wildlife campaigners demanded a 2,460ft buffer zone around the nest.
However, DF Concerts stressed that the festival would not have to be cancelled as there was no evidence that the birds were nesting at the site.
The announcement, made after a day of stakeholder talks at Strathallan, has angered protesters who believed the ospreys’ arrival would mean the show could not go ahead.
Organisers had earlier come under fire for using a basket crane near the old nest to dissuade the birds from landing. They had hoped the ospreys would instead use a new nest built especially for them at another part of the 1,600-acre estate.
A spokeswoman for the festival said last night: “We can confirm that osprey have returned to Strathallan, but the expert opinion of our ornithologist is that they have not nested.
“The RSPB believes that the previous nest is active and as such, close monitoring via the cherry picker has been removed and we will continue to liaise with the relevant organisations to ensure the protection of the birds.
“We will also provide an update when the chosen location of the birds becomes clear.”
She added: “In the meantime, we’d also like to assure fans that the festival will go ahead.
“The decision on our planning application will still be made in May and we remain confident that the event will take place at Strathallan.”
On Monday, a video of ospreys at the site was taken by a member of the Strathallan T Action Group (Stag), the organisation which is battling to block the popular music festival.
The six-second clip was passed on to the RSPB, which called police to the site.
A Police Scotland spokesman confirmed that inquiries are ongoing.
Stag claimed that the video footage proved the birds were nesting at their traditional spot within the festival site.
A spokesman said: “We are assisting the police in relation to the authentication of the footage. If a criminal offence has indeed been committed, we would question whether it remains an option for the council to grant planning permission for the festival.”
He added: “The fact that the birds are now back on the nest raises the separate issue of what protection they are entitled to.”
He said that DF Concert’s osprey management plan had failed. “Perhaps now we’ll get to hear of DFC’s plan B. It would be a great shame if the festival couldn’t go ahead this year at a more suitable site.”