Farmers given assurance over lynx reintroduction

Ewing tells delegates he will not support bringing back predatory species to the Scottish wild

The reintroduction of the lynx, wolf or bear will only take place in Scotland over the dead body of rural economy secretary Fergus Ewing.

That was the assurance he gave farmers when the controversial reintroductions question raised its head for a second day at the NFU Scotland conference.

Mr Ewing also called on Defra Secretary Michael Gove to reject the call for a trial release of lynx in Kielder Forest on the border with Scotland.

“Introducing such species risks cruelty and harm to farm animals, native wild birds and animals, even domestic pets,” he said.

“I will not support anything which creates further challenge or difficulty for our farming sector or gets in the way of you getting on with your business.

“So I will not support any attempt to introduce new predatory species such as the lynx to Scotland.”

However, Perthshire farmer Pete Grewar pointed out that the illegal reintroduction of beavers to the Tay catchment was already out of control and called on Mr Ewing to get directly involved in the debate.

“Any future protection and licensing regime is going to have serious ramifications for the rural economy, never mind the urban economy, and it will cost serious amounts of taxpayers’ cash,” he said.

“Thus far almost no public money has been put into mitigation let alone any future post-licensing costs and it’s simply wrong in decent society that land managers are left to pick up the cost for what was an illegal act by others which has since been condoned by the Scottish Government.”

Mr Ewing said he would go to see the impact of the beavers for himself, but he ruled out any radical action.

“The public won’t countenance a mass cull of beavers in Scotland,” he said.

“That’s not the right approach, but I will come to Strathmore.”

Picture: Getty. A Siberian lynx.