IT is with dismay that I have read in The National about the proposed introduction of the Eurasian lynx to an area in Scotland, around Loch Lomond (Lynx set to be brought back to Scottish forests over five years, August 17). This will surely pose a threat to humans, as well as to farm animals and wild animals such as the Highland wildcat.

There is no evidence that the lynx was ever native to Scotland, which perhaps explains why we still have the wildcat, the pine marten, the red squirrel etc. When a lynx escaped from captivity in Aberystwyth two years ago, it was hunted down and shot because of the threat it posed to humans. When a lynx escapes from captivity in eastern Europe it is hunted and shot by posses from local rifle associations.

READ MORE: Lynx set to be brought back to Scottish forests over five years

We have stricter gun laws and far fewer licensed guns per capita in the rural population than, for example, Finland. I hope Scottish Natural Heritage will urgently review this plan. No-one who has seen this fierce animal in real life and at close range could support it.

Or is it part of a greater plan by landowners to deter these pesky natives from exercising their freedom to roam across moor and mountain, leaving a more interesting menu for bloodsport enthusiasts?

C Walker
Aberdeenshire

I WAS very sorry to read of the possibility of lynx being re-introduced into the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park in Scotland.

I hope the Scottish Government can prevent this.

Although the Lynx Trust claim these animals have never attacked human beings, it does not mean that they never will.

As for the claim that lynx will be a tourist attraction, they won’t be if families with young children see them killing deer, or their pet dog that they have brought with them. It would be much safer for tourists to see them in zoos.

If the deer need to be culled, surely it is far better for marksmen to shoot them and for the meat, which is very lean, to be given to food banks for distribution to people on low incomes.

The re-introduction of lynx into Scotland will be an absolute nightmare for sheep farmers, who have enough trouble with dogs.

Susan Swain
Dunbar, East Lothian

I’VE read some bizarre political strategies in my time, but the plan set out by David Lindsay has to be the wackiest of them all (Letters, August 19).

First he wants to dispose of Nicola Sturgeon, the politician with the highest rating in the UK and the independence movement’s greatest asset. Then he wants voters to combine to defeat the SNP in the 74 constituencies. And finally he wants Alex Salmond to lead the Alliance for Independence in hoovering up the list votes.

This master plan, if completely successful, would mean that the Alliance would win no constituency seats and 56 Holyrood list seats, or 43% of the available seats.

With David Lindsay in charge of political strategy, we can be confident of winning independence sometime in the 22nd century.

Douglas Turner
Edinburgh

SCOTTISH independence has always been about democracy.

This must be kept at the forefront of our campaign. It is being made clear by such writers as the Wee Ginger Dug, but cannot be repeated too often.

The worst example is the Westminster Parliament, where the Scottish MPs will always be outvoted by the huge majority of English Unionist representatives. This has been true for 300 years but we have only noticed it lately, it would seem. This has resulted in the continuous list of negative outcomes in Scotland: loss of North Sea oil and fishing benefits, having to host Trident, de-industrialisation and lack of representation in international matters like Brexit or the occasional post-imperial war.

If the “agreement” of the Westminster Parliament is not given for a Scottish referendum despite repeated SNP successes in Edinburgh and London, this lack of fairness will be overwhelmingly clear. We must remember that all the inequalities, such as the media bias to the debate about money and debt, spring from a lack of democracy. This must be our invitation – for democracy to seek a home in the ancient sanctuary of Holyrood.

Iain WD Forde
Scotlandwell

WE know their plan, their intent, to demobilise our Parliament;
To butcher us on their Tory slab,
with an undisguised power grab.
Their panic is there for all to see,
to them we are the annoying flea ;
that constant itch that they detest,
Scotland ... that bothersome pest.

We know their mood, smell the fear,
Westminster’s dagger, London’s spear;
they mean to steal, intend to nab,
our people’s rights in a power grab.
We see their tactics, know the trick,
they wish to demolish brick by brick.
But we shall fight, parry the jab,
shield Scotland from the power grab.

George Robertson
Magdalene