The head of the government\u2019s wildlife regulator has said he remains enthusiastic about reintroducing lynx to Britain and would be \u201cabsolutely delighted\u201d if it could be achieved during his two-year term.<\/p>\n
But Tony Juniper, the chair of Natural England<\/a>, said debates over the animal\u2019s release were \u201cstill quite polarised\u201d and more engagement was required to understand how communities would be affected.<\/p>\n The Lynx UK Trust has submitted a draft application for a trial return of lynx to England\u2019s largest forest, Kielder<\/a>, in Northumberland, using wild animals rescued from culls in Sweden<\/a>.<\/p>\n The charismatic but elusive labrador-sized cats live in forests and prey mainly on deer or rabbits, posing no threat to humans.<\/p>\n The species was hunted to extinction in Britain, finally disappearing from Scotland in the middle ages. By the 1950s there were barely 700 Eurasian lynx left in Europe, but in recent decades the population has bounced back to 18,000<\/a>, boosted by a reduction in persecution and successful reintroductions<\/a> to areas of Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and other countries.<\/p>\n Natural England officials have told the Lynx UK Trust<\/a> that a trial reintroduction cannot proceed because the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) rules it illegal under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act.<\/p>\n According to the trust, this could be solved with a simple statutory instrument \u2013 a legal tweak \u2013 but the charity\u2019s chief executive, Paul O\u2019Donoghue, said Steve Reed, the environment secretary, had not responded to attempts to arrange a meeting despite giving an initial warm response. O\u2019Donoghue said that if the government would not review the trust\u2019s application for a licence for a trial release, it would launch a court challenge.<\/p>\n Asked if he believed lynx could be reintroduced, Juniper said: \u201cIt should be looked at and I know people are looking at it.\u201d He said he hoped that \u201ca cross-border conversation with colleagues in Scotland\u201d could boost prospects for the return of the species.<\/p>\n \u201cLynx do need big areas of habitat and there could be some opportunities to combine nature recovery over parts of northern England<\/a> with what\u2019s going on in southern Scotland,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is still quite polarised and some of these things will remain divided no matter how much effort you put in, but we need more engagement to understand how communities that would be living with these animals would be able to continue with what they do. There are in some places still serious doubts about that.\u201d<\/p>\n O\u2019Donoghue said calls for more engagement were a waste of time and money. \u201cUnless he has been living under a rock for the past 30 years, Tony Juniper must know that sheep farmers will never change their position on lynx reintroduction, making more calls for more engagement utterly futile,\u201d he said. \u201cThe sad and stark truth is that currently the government are actively blocking any legal attempt at lynx reintroduction.\u201d<\/p>\n As well as the draft application from the Lynx UK Trust, two other charitable collaborations are conducting consultations over lynx reintroduction. The Missing Lynx Project<\/a> is exploring the feasibility of reintroducing the carnivore to Kielder, while the Lynx to Scotland<\/a> partnership last month produced a 100-page report<\/a> after consulting 53 stakeholders including farmer interests about a potential return to the Cairngorms.<\/p>\n The report identified potential conflict between lynx and sheep farmers and recommended payments for losses and coexistence, as well as a funded rapid-response system for farmers experiencing sheep predation. Any reintroduction in Scotland requires approval from the Scottish government after another public consultation and ecological assessments.<\/p>\n Four lynx were illegally released in the Cairngorms in January, with one dying and three females recaptured and rehomed<\/a> at the Highland Wildlife Park. Rogue rewilders were blamed, but the animals were tame and many believe they were simply released from a private collection.<\/p>\n O\u2019Donoghue said the Kielder reintroduction area in England \u2013 where Lynx UK Trust had an application declined in 2018 \u2013 would be ideal, offering the spacious landscape that most benefits lynx in a forest environment with relatively few sheep-farming interests.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what\u2019s happening and why it matters<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cI have no idea why the government are so scared of lynx. Lynx have naturally recolonised countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands with great celebration and no issues,\u201d he said. \u201cLynx are proven drivers of both economic and ecological restoration. They would generate millions of pounds every year to the local economy in Kielder, providing both green, sustainable jobs and improving the health and resilience of forest ecosystems. In Germany, a reintroduction in the Harz mountains<\/a> has been so successful that a second reintroduction is now planned in Bavaria.\u201d<\/p>\n