[SallyintNorth]

Nicely balanced post, Garmoran 

On the subject of lynx hunting - don't they like to drop onto their prey from trees?  So if most of the sheep are not in woodland, and most of the deer are in woodland, or around its edges, a lot of the time, then the lynx would be more likely to predate deer than sheep?

In which case, we need them all through England controlling the roe and muntjac deer!   

[bigchicken]

There are some 1500000 million red deer in Britain. -500000 million roe deer its going to take very large numbers of lynx to make any real contribution to any control of numbers. Experts say that deer numbers are out of control and a cull of 1000000 would only keep the population at its present numbers. I think that the present wildlife of our country needs helping, ie culling of the over populated and encouragement of those in trouble, long before any fanciful ideas about introducing glamorous headline catching animals. There's a saying up here, ( look in before you look out.)

[fiestyredhead331]

lots of wise words 

I think the biggest stumbling block, other than putting the proverbial lynx among the pigeons is that the habitat bears (no pun intended) no resemblance to what it was when these animals roamed these lands.

We rely heavily on tourism in the Highlands and here in Assynt we have 200+ lochs and fabulous munroes that for some daft reason  people seem to want to explore, would the fact there may be lynx, wolves, bears or lemmings put them off or bring them in? 

[SallyintNorth]

I've walked in the Canadian Rockies and certainly wasn't put off by the residents.  You do need to do a bit more research and preparation, is all.

[fiestyredhead331]

well TBH anyone out walking here should some research, case in point was the guy who decided to climb Aonach Mor in Lochaber in flip flops who then had to be rescued! Let's face it, there are some people who think that they are Bear Grylls when they see a bit of countryside 

[SallyintNorth]

Personally I'd be all for a bit of natural selection of idiot tourists... 

[fiestyredhead331]

ha ha never thought of it like that 

[Marches Farmer]

The wild boar (actually a wild boar x Tamworth) population of the Forest of Dean is now estimated to be 2000.  Hanging around laybys for the food in bins, boar killed a GOS boar earlier in the year (imagine how terribly injured the GOS must have been) now been observed killing and eating ewes and lambs.  If no natural predators and not ruthlessly culled they're going to run out of food.  Lynx anyone?

[FiB]

Anyone interested in this subject - feral by George Monbiot is a fantastic read :-) a Real challenge to the farming and traditional ' conservation' perspectives. All about balance and looking at the whole food chain.

[Marches Farmer]

Wot, you mean like reducing numbers of sheep on the mountains and moors, so that the heather and ling is old and shrubby and crowds out new growth and wild flowers, with all the associated birds and insects?  The drainage channels fill up with vegetation and make the ground so boggy it's too wet for the waders to nest.  Bog asphodel spreads and sheep can no longer graze the land at all, as it's poisonous to them ....?  Yup, I'm a shepherd and somehow I just know he isn't.

[fiestyredhead331]

if you want to take the whole predator thing to it's extreme....

what if the lynx etc get out of control what do we send in next?......we could have a real life Jurassic Park on our hands

[Marches Farmer]

The return of the Great White Hunter ....?

[fiestyredhead331]

which brings us back to where we are now as no doubt it was us humans that made them extinct in these parts in the first place?

so a pointless exercise perhaps and no doubt very expensive when funding could be put to better use?

[FiB]

Wot, you mean like reducing numbers of sheep on the mountains and moors, so that the heather and ling is old and shrubby and crowds out new growth and wild flowers, with all the associated birds and insects?  The drainage channels fill up with vegetation and make the ground so boggy it's too wet for the waders to nest.  Bog asphodel spreads and sheep can no longer graze the land at all, as it's poisonous to them ....?  Yup, I'm a shepherd and somehow I just know he isn't.

... But after all that happens, trees can re establish. I can see his perspective of the prevalent model of hill sheep creating  relative 'deserts'. Corridors and Pockets of woodland have so many benefits...... I only have a small patch but have seen how easy it is to regenerate an area by keeping the sheep out. Food for thought about the next few hundred years is all :-)

[Marches Farmer]

And then the woodlands would fill with deer .....  incidentall,y did I mention that around 60% of the deer culled on an estate on the Welsh border have bTB lesions .....