Scottish sheep farmers are fearful of the latest move by the Scottish Parliament to re-introduce the lynx into the country.

National Sheep Association (NSA) Scottish region coordinator Grace Reid warned that the argument that lynx will only feed on deer is “not accepatable”.

“There is no doubt sheep will be an easy target for predation and it is a major concern for those who farm in Scotland,” she said.

The potential for reintroducing lynx was debated in the Scottish Parliament last week, after a parliamentary motion by the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) Kenneth Gibson received cross-party support to engage this discussion.

The motion highlighted the case for the species’ return, and explained how some believe lynx reintroduction could make Scotland’s natural world “richer and stronger” via a managed reintroduction, following appropriate assessments.

Habitats

Reid said that the NSA advocates for a diverse tapestry of habitats and biodiversity across farmland but warned against the current proposals.

“NSA members across the UK and notably Scotland have been at the sharp end of species reintroductions, from poor consultation processes, illegal releases, no management strategies, and no mitigation, exit or recognition of the impacts to farming businesses and livelihoods.

Lynx will predate on sheep, says the NSA. \ David Ruffles

“We are increasingly concerned around the contradictions which could arise in government policy,” she said.

Policies

The NSA Scottish region coordinator highlighted that new UK-wide farming policies are incentivising habitat creation already.

She said that while there is simultaneous work to improve animal welfare standards, it is short sighted to be considering the release of a species that could severely damage the biodiversity of existing habitats and severely impact animal welfare and sheep farmers' livelihoods.

“Evidence has shown that some European sheep flocks continue to suffer disproportionately great losses due to lynx predation.

“Those in favour of a reintroduction argue the UK has fallen behind in terms of species diversity but there is a history of greater land use and land use change in Scotland than Europe has seen and therefore comparisons cannot be made between the UK and Europe due to the vast land scale and landscape differences,” she added.

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