The Eurasian lynx is the target of ongoing

species reintroduction Species reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild, from captivity or other areas where the organism is capable of survival. The goal of species reintroduction is to establish a healthy, genetically diverse, self-sustainin ...

proposals in Great Britain. Proposed locations include the Scottish Highlands and Kielder Forest in Northumberland, England.

Background

Lynx were extirpated from the island of Great Britain by the Middle Ages (but a written record indicates persistence in Scotland into the late 18th century), and since the extinction of the grey wolf from Britain in 1680 (see

Wolves in Great Britain Wolves were once present in Great Britain. Early writing from Roman and later Saxon chronicles indicate that wolves appear to have been extraordinarily numerous on the island. Unlike other British animals, wolves were unaffected by island dwarfism, ...

), the island contains no terrestrial apex predators. Since then, red and roe deer populations have increased dramatically due to having no natural predators; with excessive deer foraging leading to prevention of forest regeneration, the stripping of tree vegetation, and removing of the shrub layer in forests, which provides a habitat for birds such as nightingales and

willow warbler The willow warbler (''Phylloscopus trochilus'') is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and the Palearctic, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly ...

s. Reintroducing large predators such as the lynx are seen by rewilding experts as a means of restoring balance in the ecosystem and keeping deer numbers under control.

Proposals

England

Lynx Trust UK are a registered charity campaigning for the reintroduction of lynx to the Kielder Forest in Northumberland. In 2018, a proposal to release six animals was turned down by then- Environment Secretary

Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician serving as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations since 2021. He has been Member of Parli ...

, due to findings that the proposal did not "meet the necessary standards set out in the IUCN ( International Union for Conservation of Nature) guidelines and fails to give confidence that the project could be completed in practical terms or that the outputs would meet the stated aims". In 2020 the Trust began preparing a second proposal to be submitted, with three animals proposed. The Wild East Project has proposed lynx reintroduction to areas of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

Scotland

Lynx reintroduction into the Scottish Highlands has been proposed since 2008, and a study by Lynx Trust UK and the University of Lancaster found that the Scottish countryside would be able to support a population of up to 250 animals. In 2020, Lynx Trust UK began a consultation into releasing lynx into the

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park Queen Elizabeth Forest Park is a Forest parks of Scotland, forest park in the Scottish Highlands which extends from the eastern shores of Loch Lomond to the mountains of Strathyre. The forest park is one of six such parks in Scotland, and was es ...

north of Glasgow.

Support

The proposals have met opposition from sheep farmers, citing threats the lynx would pose to their flocks; despite research indicating that because lynx also predate on foxes, the number of lambs killed would reduce.

Tony Juniper Anthony Juniper (born 24 September 1960) is a British campaigner, writer, sustainability advisor and environmentalist who served as Executive Director of Friends of the Earth, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. He was Vice Chair of Friends ...

, chairman of Natural England, voiced his support for the "inspiring" proposal in 2020, stating that it could help to cut deer numbers. Scottish rewilding charity Trees for Life supports lynx reintroduction, claiming it would "restore ecological processes that have been missing for centuries, and provide a free and efficient deer management service".

References

{{reflist

External links

Eurasian Lynx - Lynx Trust UK
Animal reintroduction Conservation in the United Kingdom Wildlife of the United Kingdom