Lynx release could threaten rural livelihoods, warn National Sheep Association

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the impact of it would be 'far wider-reaching than just a few sheep lost'
NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the impact of it would be 'far wider-reaching than just a few sheep lost'

Releasing lynx in a rural community near Kielder Forest would have a 'detrimental impact' on livelihoods, the National Sheep Association has warned.

A discussion organised by the NSA and the NFU met on Wednesday evening to talk about the situation with residents.

The NSA said the debate so far has only focused on the positives, with 'little consideration' for evidence which suggests similar projects in Europe have experienced limited success.

"Releasing this predatory species puts at risk all the things that emanate from a successful sheep farmed area – the landscape and its associated ecology and wildlife, local working communities and a vibrant rural economy," the group said.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said the impact of it would be 'far wider-reaching than just a few sheep lost'.

"The UK's ecology is built on huge diversity which is dependent on human management and farming in the majority of cases," he said.

"This hierarchy of species interact with each other and we already have many examples where a lack of intervention and predator control result in the collapse of iconic birds and mammals such as the red squirrel and the curlew - two species that Northumberland is renowned for.

"The UK is very different from countries where top level predators such as big cats can survive, in terms of land use, wildlife and our population and infrastructure."

'Genuine concern'

Lynx are known to prey on ground nesting birds and small mammals and we are in danger of risking investment which has gone into making sure they have a future.

The group said a lynx release has the potential to threaten the essential function that sheep have in maintaining the landscape in the UK countryside.

Mr Stocker said moves for more agro-forestry schemes and further integration of trees and hedgerows would be undermined by releasing lynx if individuals felt these had the potential to create habitat for a species which 'poses a threat to their livelihoods.'

"It is clear there is a genuine concern that a lynx release has the potential to make sheep farming in Kielder and the surrounding area non-viable.

"Yesterday's discussion highlighted the crucial role farming and forestry is contributing to an already thriving tourism industry, begging the question of what is at stake here.

"Once a proposed trial release has taken place, it is difficult to see how it could be reversed."