The National Sheep Association (NSA) has disputed claims made by the Lynx UK Trust that it has “100% landowner approval” for the reintroduction of the species into Britain.
A statement issued by the trust today (Wednesday, August 8), stated that major landowners responsible for 700km² of potential Eurasian lynx habitat in the Kielder Forest region have “approved access” for the animal during the planned trial reintroduction.
The trust added that 100% of the landowners approached have given their go-ahead.
Reintroduction
In July 2017, the Lynx UK Trust submitted the first ever licence application for the release of Eurasian lynx into the UK.
Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive, said: “Approval of landowners is a moot point without the licence application being approved by Natural England – but, with no detail of the individuals claimed to be supporting them, all we can do is dispute this latest information from Lynx UK Trust.
The area the trust is talking about is clearly a large proportion of Kielder and the majority of farmers we’ve spoken to there are opposed to the release.
“It may be that Lynx UK has not drawn the important distinction between landowners and farmers, as land in that area is frequently farmed by tenants.”
The NSA also disputed the claim that the organisation were “baseless scaremongers” and said its stance was based on experiences of farmers in other European countries.
The species has been extinct in the UK for more than 1,000 years and feeds on animals such as red squirrels and ground-nesting birds such as the curlew. It’s also feared the animal could pose a threat to livestock such as sheep.
In November, a lynx which had escaped from a zoo killed seven sheep in Aberystwyth.
