SHEEP farmers have raised concerns about proposals to reintroduce the lynx, which became extinct in the UK more than 1,300 years ago.

Last year, the Lynx UK Trust launched a national consultation for farmers and landowners on a trial reintroduction of the cat at several sites in the UK, in Aberdeenshire, Argyll, Northumberland, Cumbria and Norfolk.

A report for the trust suggested the Eurasian lynx’s return in just two areas would deliver net benefits of £68 million over 25 years, boosting eco-tourism, keeping down deer and improving crop yields, wildlife and forestry. And, there would be minimal negative impacts on farming, as lynx prefer to hunt deer rather than livestock or domestic pets, the report claimed.

But a report by the National Sheep Association (NSA) raised concerns that the introduction of the predator would jeopardise the “already fragile state” of the sheep farming industry.

Lynx are unpredictable in their hunting and while there was likely to be low levels of sheep kills by lynx in areas where deer numbers were high, any premature death of livestock was unacceptable to farmers, the organisation said.

The cats could also kill more sheep than they needed to feed themselves, and the impact of their presence could pose a welfare issue to the livestock, it added.

Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive, pointed to the similarities between the threat the lynx would pose to sheep and lambs and the issue of dog attacks on the animals.

“Attacks by dog cause sheep to miscarry their unborn lambs, to be separated from baby lambs once they are born, and to fail to thrive due to high levels of stress. It would be the same with the lynx.”

He added: “Poorer animal welfare is just one of many problems lynx would create if they were introduced.

“Decision-makers must consider this, along with other, wider consequences and seriously consider the detail, not just be taken in by the general appeal of having a big cat in our countryside.”