Sheep farmers have warned of an increase risk of wildfires if proposals to rewild the British upland landscape go ahead.
Devastating scenes of wildfires raging over Saddleworth Moor in Greater Manchester have made the news, with farmers among those helping to battle the flames.
It has been declared a "major incident", and the Army are now helping assist efforts in tackling the fire. The fire could last for weeks.
The National Sheep Association (NSA) is warning of the increased risk of similar disasters if proposals to re-wild many of the UK’s upland areas are pursued.
Rewilding involves restoring landscape to its natural uncultivated state, and could involve the reinstatement of missing species, including apex predators such as lynx and wolves.
But the sheep organisation said the combined risk factors of predicted climate change with removal of grazing animals will increase the chance of a natural fire spreading.
Sheep protect uplands from out-of-control fires by creating natural firebreaks, the NSA said.
'Immense damage'
NSA Chief Executive, Phil Stocker explained that wildfires are becoming more common across the UK, in part due to a loss of grazing animals and an increase in high volumes of dry vegetation.
“The result is causing immense environmental damage including the loss of peat and release of carbon into the atmosphere, the destruction of mammals and young birds, the potential loss of domesticated livestock and of course, a risk to human health,” Mr Stocker added.
“The grazed nature of most of our uplands has, in the past, protected us from out of control fires, meaning that when fires occur as they inevitably will, they are short lived and relatively easy to get under control.”
Mr Stocker said sheep farming has an "integral relationship" with the UK's environment, wildlife and people. He said natural and traditional land management works for the environment alongside food and wool production.
“The NSA is not aiming to win political gain from a clearly distressing and damaging event and our thoughts go to all affected in the area, however we do feel the need to point out that moves to re-wild many of our upland areas would put far more and far larger areas at risks,” he added.
The news follows comments by rural insurer NFU Mutual saying that increasing dry conditions are putting farms at high risk of devastating fires and risk causing a "countryside inferno".
