Study will assess public’s love of the lynx

HOW do you feel about lynx roaming the countryside? The idea of reintroducing top predators into the British countryside has its supporters, although many fear the consequences for livestock farming.

Now local people in the part of Britain most likely to be first in line for the reintroductions – Scotland – are to get their chance to have a say.

The findings of the study to assess people’s views about the possible reintroduction of Eurasian lynx to Scotland could have implications for what happens elsewhere, including in the South West. The study is being launched by a group of charities and the project’s partners claim that ecological research has shown that extensive areas of Scotland could support lynx, while the animals could bring environmental benefits and help with managing deer populations – a job currently carried out by deer stalkers with rifles as well as those paying for the privilege of stalking.

A new partnership of the charities Scotland: The Big Picture, Trees for Life and the Vincent Wildlife Trust is launching the year-long Lynx to Scotland consultation to assess public and stakeholder attitudes, particularly in rural communities.

The charities said returning the shy and elusive animal to Scotland is less about science and more about people’s willingness to live alongside the species.

Jenny MacPherson, science and research programme manager with the Vincent Wildlife Trust, which will lead the study, said: “Reintroducing lynx would inevitably bring challenges.

“Lynx to Scotland will actively include stakeholders representing the full range of perspectives, in order to produce meaningful conclusions about the level of support or tolerance for lynx, and therefore the likely success of any future reintroduction.”

The Eurasian lynx is native to the UK but was driven to extinction some 500 to 1,000 years ago through hunting and habitat loss.

Lynx are now expanding in range and numbers across mainland Europe, following changes in hunting laws and a softening in public attitudes towards large predators.

Partners in the project said that reintroducing lynx to the Scottish Highlands could bring ecological benefits. The charities said that, as a solitary woodland hunter, lynx are rarely glimpsed and attacks on humans are virtually unknown.

Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, said: “By preying on roe deer, lynx would restore ecological processes that have been missing for centuries.” We’ll see if people agree.