Could the Highlands see the lynx return?
The
missing lynx - long gone from the Highlands - could be found if a new initiative finds favour.
The Lynx UK Trust has launched a national stakeholder consultation to discuss the reintroduction of the big cat.
The trust cites independent research which suggests that the move would mean hundreds of new jobs and tens of millions of pounds in new eco- tourism revenues over a 25-year period.
Earlier this year, the trust canvassed the public on bringing back the deer-hunting lynx after a 1,300 year absence to help balance out deer overpopulation and its damaging effects on forestry and agricultural crops.
“Over 9,000 people responded,” the trust said, “the largest ever response to such a survey, recording support of up to 91% in favour of reintroduction.”
The survey is suggesting trial reintroduction sites in strath-bordering territories in Aberdeenshire, as well as Argyll, Northumberland, Cumbria and Norfolk.
Andrew Bauer, Deputy Director of Policy for NFU Scotland commented: “Whilst the prospect of lynx reintroduction has left some breathless with excitement, there are good reasons why the farming community is more wary.
“In some parts of Europe the impact of lynx is moderate – very distressing and damaging for those who lose lambs but not a widespread problem. There are other parts of Europe, most notably Norway, where the impact is far greater – with official reports concluding that tens of thousands of lambs are being predated each year in Norway alone by species such as lynx and wolves.
“Farmers are quite right to question why and how lynx, absent from Scotland since medieval times, should be reintroduced. Alongside trumpeting the benefits, those who advocate lynx reintroduction should be up front about the potential impacts on Scotland’s hugely important sheep farming industry and the potentially very significant cost to the public purse.
Anyone who is concerned about lynx reintroduction should take heart from the fact that any such proposal would be subject to a considerable level of scrutiny.
“As a member of the National Species Reintroduction Forum, NFU Scotland would be involved in the scrutiny of any application and would feed in the many views and concerns likely to be voiced by our membership. Should it be clear that the risk to farming is unacceptable, NFU Scotland would act accordingly.”
More information on the consultation is available from www.lynxuk.org/consultation
