Second bid to free lynx in Kielder Forest causing constant worry for farmers afraid for sheep
The Lynx UK Trust will be holding the first of its online consultations about updated reintroduction plans on Thursday - but farmers say they re not happy
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Sheep farmers attack new attempt to reintroduce lynx
1 February 2021 |
A new bid to introduce lynx to Northumberland has been criticised by the sheep sector
Sheep farmers have again warned of the consequences of releasing lynx into the countryside as campaigners are set to unveil a second bid to reintroduce the animal.
Lynx UK Trust is gearing up to launch a new attempt to re-wild the Eurasian lynx in Kielder Forest, Northumberland two years after Michael Gove rejected the first proposal.
The then-Defra Secretary said it did not meet the necessary standards set out in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) guidelines.
Lynx could be reintroduced to Northumberland under new plans THE Tyne Valley is bracing itself for another controversial attempt to release lynx into Kielder Forest. The Lynx UK Trust has announced it will be hosting two online consultation events over its plans, with the first event set to take place today at 7pm. A similar proposal was rejected by the government back in 2018, after farmers vociferously opposed the plans, with many fearing for their livestock and livelihoods. This week, Hexham s MP Guy Opperman said he had received fresh correspondence from concerned farmers. Mr Opperman said: The release of Lynx into the Kielder Forest was the subject of an application to Defra a few years ago and was comprehensively rejected on multiple grounds by local people, county councillors, myself as MP, as well as key stakeholders like the Forestry Commission, NSA, the NFU, and the Northumberland National Park.
Wild lynx may soon be reintroduced to the UK s fields and woods in a bid to cut the soaring number of deer which are damaging young trees and crops and causing crashes.
The plans have been put forward by the Lynx Trust UK who say although sheep may be targeted by the feline predators, compensation would be available for farmers.
It is now estimated there are two million wild deer in the UK - the bigger number for a thousand years, helped by the extinction of their natural predators like wolves.
By feeding on the undergrowth and stripping the lower branches of trees bare, the deer damage potential nesting spots for birds.