CONCERNED sheep farmers held a meeting telling Borderers of the “economic, environmental and social consequences” of releasing lynx into the Borders countryside.

The talk was organised by the National Sheep Association (NSA) in St Boswells last week in response to the Lynx UK Trust announcing Kielder Forest as its preferred site for a trial release programme of the big cats.

It brought together some 10 organisations and individuals involved in farming, tourism, animal welfare, land management, field sports and conservation.

NSA’s Chief Executive Phil Stocker said: “The discussions led to us learning there is substantial and widespread concern over the implications of releasing lynx, and also concern over the way Lynx UK is going about its work.

"Valid points were raised in areas of strong public interest that go way beyond the losses that will be suffered by sheep farmers.

“NSA has been very concerned the Lynx UK Trust would either orchestrate for its own, biased research to be used as the public consultation and/or apply to only one licensing body despite the proposed release site falling under the remit of both Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. 

“I now feel confident that NSA would be far from the only group opposed to those two things, and believe there is willingness within the Scottish and English licensing bodies to be communicating together.”

Lynx disappeared from UK forests around 1,300 years ago – most likely as a result of fur hunting and deforestation. It left the species at just 700 individuals across Europe by the 1940s.

Conservationists say the Labrador-sized cats have a “pivotal” role in the ecosystem, controlling an unchecked deer population overgrazing UK forests.

No formal application has yet been made for the pilot release, which proposes 10 lynx be introduced into Kielder Forest – five of each sex. 

Before the St Boswells meet, NSA attended a Lynx UK Trust event in Kielder and Mr Stocker added he was “dismayed” to see how the group was “using its own consultation work and results interpretation to garner support for the proposals.”

He called their process “flawed and misleading” and said that any campaign to reintroduce a lost species must be “impartially conducted by an organisation that would attract unbiased responses.”

He added: “This country is a very different place to how it was 1,300 years ago and NSA does not believe we have enough large scale, suitable habitat to support the minimum population of 250 lynx that is needed for true genetic sustainability. 

Mr Stocker said: “We do not believe claims that say lynx will only predate some 0.4 sheep each per year, as evidence in other parts of the world, and more recently on Dartmoor where an escaped Lynx killed four sheep in three weeks, demonstrates that such theoretic claims are nonsense.”