REWILDING WARNING: Lynx case has ‘clear parallels’ with sea eagle re-introduction

There were four Lynx released in the Cairngorms Pic Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)

A farmer from the Isle of Skye has voiced fears over the reintroduction of lynx and other species in the wake of the recent rogue release in the Cairngorms.

Robert Macdonald, who farms near Grantown on Spey, warns there are clear parallels between the controversial reintroduction of sea eagles, which are blamed for lamb predation, and lynx being brought back to the Highlands.

Mr Macdonald, chairman of the 60-member Cairngorm Crofters and Farmers group, farms Cheviot ewes near to where four lynx were illegally released earlier this month.

Robert Macdonald

The cats were confirmed as Eurasian lynx, the largest of four species of the animals.

All were captured by experts, but one later died of starvation. 

“We were all very concerned when we heard about the release of lynx,” said Mr Macdonald.

“I have spoken to a number of Norwegian farmers where lynx are part of their natural environment and they have all said that lynx are a major problem and will take sheep and lambs.

“However in Norway farmers are well compensated for any losses because their government is very determined to sustain the traditional rural way of life.”

Mr Macdonald said efforts by some to reintroduce lynx and other species to the Highlands as part of ‘rewilding’ plans were of huge concern to farmers.  

“The government seem to be encouraging this with the type of grants they are offering,” he said.

“It’s very concerning to be losing the indigenous people of the Highlands and paying financial institutions in London for carbon credits.

“It’s a nonsense because it is greenwashing.

“It’s land abandonment and it drives the traditional ways of farming and crofting off the land. It’s another Highland Clearances.

“The Clearances took a lot of people off the land and this time it’s the farmers and crofters.”

Mr Macdonald said the rogue release of the lynx had reignited debate about the prospect of reintroductions.

“It has brought it to the forefront of the conversation, but I think it has done them more harm than good, because people have seen what it means for animals when these things are not properly planned,” he said.

Mr Macdonald believed a major problem with the proposal for lynx reintroduction was a lack of food for them, in common with sea eagles.

“The government targets for deer numbers are one to three beasts per square kilometre, and the lynx need one to two deer a week to survive,” he said. “There won’t be enough deer in the Cairngorms to sustain a viable population.

“The red-listed species in the Cairngorms – pine marten, capercaillie and wildcat – are all capable of being a meal for a lynx.”

Born and brought up in Skye, Mr Macdonald and his father farmed at Orbost, near Dunvegan, before he moved to the Cairngorms in 1997.

“We had about 1,200 ewes on Orbost but there’s very little there now,” he said. “There are no sheep on the hills because of the losses due to sea eagle predation. 

“We were consistently told by the conservationists that sea eagles don’t take lambs.

“It’s only now that some of the RSPB guys are acknowledging that sea eagles do take lambs.

“That’s why we don’t believe the reassurances about the lynx.

“Farmers and crofters were given all the same reassurances about the sea eagles and it wasn’t true. Our fellow farmers in Norway tell us ‘resist the lynx as hard as you can, because they will cause damage’. We believe them.”

Police Scotland is investigating the release of the lynx and Mr Macdonald hopes officers will be able to identify whoever was responsible. 

“There were porcupine quills in with the straw the lynx were released with so there should be clues there,” he said. “There are very few registered lynx keepers in the UK but whoever did it could well be flying below the radar.

“It was a concerning time for farmers and crofters around here and we took our sheep in closer to hand to protect them.

“It’s a real worry when they are released on your doorstep.” 

Article by JACKIE MACKENZIE