The Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), which used to inhabit Britain approximately 1,300 years ago, has been proposed for reintroduction by The Missing Lynx Project, an organisation working closely with the Northumberland Wildlife Trust. This project involved a touring exhibition spanning across Northumberland, Cumbria and Southern Scotland in order to determine the views of locals in the project’s area.
The natural culling of deer by lynxes will help reduce spending on deer management programmes, allowing spending to be mitigated to other areas in rural communities
Although the exact number of deer in the UK is unknown, there are enough of them to cause significant damage to woodlands and there is currently no natural predator to keep them under control. The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology has claimed that 8,000 hectares of damage to woodlands with Sites of Special Interest status has been caused directly by deer. Although lynxes would only hunt a small proportion of deer yearly, just their presence would inspire deer herds to migrate more regularly to different areas, preventing overgrazing. The natural culling of deer by lynxes will help reduce spending on deer management programmes, allowing spending to be mitigated to other areas in rural communities.
Kielder Forest in Northumberland is the proposed release site due to it being the only area in England and Wales with enough woodlands to support a target population of 50 lynxes, starting with an initial release of 20 lynxes over several years.
72% of locals of the suggested reintroduction area say they support the decision.
The individual risk in local communities is low, as there has never been a record of a healthy lynx attacking a human due to their shy nature, a fact contributing to the statistic of 72% of locals of the suggested reintroduction area saying they support the decision.
The main opposition to their reintroduction comes from farmers, as they fear livestock, such as sheep, being targeted. However, lynx behaviour in Europe has shown that sheep casualties are generally low due to their dietary preference of roe deer. The project also is working closely with farmers in order to best support them in the worst events, and prevent damages. According to an AECOM report, only 38 animals would be killed by lynxes a year, causing damages of only £757 yearly, a number which the farmers would be compensated for at above market rate.
Overall, lynx reintroduction in Northumberland has strong local support, would pose little risk to local communities and help minimise the damage to woodlands by deer.