A lynx which escaped a Welsh zoo and reportedly killed seven sheep has been shot dead by a marksman after getting the go-ahead by a local council.
Ceredigion Council gave the go-ahead to kill the wild cat, named Lillith, after an increased risk warning was issued by the council because of its proximity to a populated community.
The animal, which escaped from Borth Zoo, Aberystwyth almost a week ago, apparently killed seven sheep whist it was in the wild for several days.
The Farmers’ Union of Wales (FUW) said the authorities reacted "appropriately".
“In an ideal world the lynx would have been quickly recaptured, but this did not happen,” said a FUW spokesman.
“Given the risk to people and livestock, action to remove such a danger was long overdue. Had the animal not been allowed to escape in the first place, this situation would not have arisen, and it seems a number of our member’s livestock would not have been attacked and killed.”
'Routinely kill'
Sheep have been found to make up more than a third of wild lynx diets in Norway, alongside bigger herbivores such as roe deer, reindeer and even moose. Attacks by lynxes on humans have also been recorded, but are rare.
“Despite being around the size of a sheepdog, an animal like this will routinely kill animals much bigger than itself, and the fact it was used to humans increased the risk it posed to the public,” said the FUW spokesman.
“Some have already expressed their outrage over the shooting, but the public reaction would have been far greater had the animal attacked an adult or child, as has happened elsewhere.”
Last week the the FUW wrote to the Welsh Government and the local Police Commissioner expressing concerns that the danger the animal posed was not being taken seriously.
With proposals to introduce lynx to the north of England, and even parts of Wales, the FUW says the incident should come as a stark warning.
“It is no coincidence that the places targeted for campaigns to release lynxes are remote rural areas, and claims their impacts on livestock are negligible are not borne out by the evidence from the continent.
“If they are really as harmless as some people say, why aren’t we considering their release in heavily populated areas such as Surrey?”
