[Fleecewife]

I wanted to add that our livestock is at much greater risk from domestic dogs, on their own or in packs, than from any reintroduced species.  Let's get people to keep their dogs under control, making sure the police take their attacks seriously, before allowing ourselves to be manipulated by the press into unthinking bigotry, without the true facts.  The press survives and flourishes on spreading alarm; they're not bothered about mere facts.  Please let's rise above all that.

Oh, and Lynx eat rabbits, not sheep and calves.

[waterbuffalofarmer]

I wanted to add that our livestock is at much greater risk from domestic dogs, on their own or in packs, than from any reintroduced species.  Let's get people to keep their dogs under control, making sure the police take their attacks seriously, before allowing ourselves to be manipulated by the press into unthinking bigotry, without the true facts.  The press survives and flourishes on spreading alarm; they're not bothered about mere facts.  Please let's rise above all that.

Oh, and Lynx eat rabbits, not sheep and calves.

Rabbits though are also hunted by other predators like foxes and cats even human beings, sometimes when the population is lower than normal, due to either disease or predators or even weather conditions, if there were animals like Lynx there they are indeed big enough to take down a calf or a sheep, they could become a big nusicence. Problem is if they even taste sheep/calf meat they will come back for more, or say for example a sick farm animal they would definately go for to eat, because they are prey animals and the animal in question is an easy target. Big cats are never a good idea to have around and you would get a few which would see farm animals as an easy option and we really can't deal with this right now.  This is just one of my concerns, the other is that habitats change by people living there and up in scotland I am not even sure there would be enough food for them. Why take an animal from its natural habitat and make it live somewhere it doesn't even know? Now that is animal cruelty! I do agree that keeping animals in zoo's isn't good, although some zoo's have really worked on this and have come up with fantastioc soloutions, there is a programme on iplayer dealing with this and zoo's really have vastly improved focusing on the animals health and wellbeing, fascinating really. The only thing I could think of is that obviously they would have to do a breeding programme, which woul;d cost a lot of money, but they would also have to llok at the landscape and determine whether they could in fact put them there, the other thing is the breeding programme could go wrong and they could die, which would be horrible. there are so many factors to consider in this and until they look at every option from every angle I will be against this. I am sorry but this is just my view. From both animal health and wellbeing to my own or firends healths and wellbeing and that of their animals too. I do agree that dogs atm are the biggest threat and that should be dealt with very severely.

[Louise Gaunt]

Can I just remind you, this is not a lynx rewilding, but an escape, and the plan seems  to be to recapture this lost animal.

[Black Sheep]

problem is though [member=147294]Black Sheep[/member] with their reintroduction the people doing it

No one is deliberately trying to rewild at the moment - this escape was an accident. There are thoughts about reintroduction but as you have sensibly put it elsewhere, they need to be looked at from every angle to ensure that they are appropriate before any go ahead.

I can absoloutely say with a certain amount of knowledge that the moment they start causing trouble, and are getting to be a decent sized population, the numbers will not be managed and they will be protected by these idiotic loonies who think badgers are cuddly

And this is part of the problem - such entrenched certainty (to some extent on both sides) that removes much of the opportunity for rational discussion and analysis. How can you "absolutely say" what may or may not happen to manage numbers in any future possible reintroduction? Is it fair to sweepingly label anyone who thinks a more balanced ecosystem (like it is meant to be) would be a good thing an "idiotic loony"? ;-)

Look at some of the problems from the vast overpopulation of deer. They damage forestry crops and they result in accidents on the roads - would it not be a good idea to have something that eats them back in the system? I'm being incredibly over simplistic here and don't wish this to become another debate, just highlighting that this is a very complex issue with far reaching implications - not just what one group, or another, "wants".

why dont they reintroduce wolves, bears and loads of other wild animals which were made extinct here hundreds of years ago?

What, like beavers? ;-)

They'd been gone for 400 years or so, but some of the data now shows a benefit on downstream flooding events. Again, I don't intend this to become another debate - just to highlight that you can't reduce discussions like this to preconceptions.

unless they have a regular food supply which doesnt involve attacking farms and people I am going to protest against it!

As said above, such ridiculous claims remove the potential for proper debate. People all around the world live, work, and play in far greater proximity to far more dangerous wildlife than we will ever have back on these shores. They aren't being killed off in droves as a result. Let's maintain a reasonable perspective :-)

[Fleecewife]

Well said Black Sheep.  May I add that 'they' are intelligent folk, with the welfare of animals firmly in mind, who will be doing continuing research into the possibilities of a small reintroduction.  If it doesn't look feasible then it won't go ahead, if it does then there could at some point in the future, be a controlled trial reintroduction, with the possibility of shutdown if it all goes wrong.
As I said, let's get to the truth, rather than believing whatever the papers choose to tell us.

Although this thread is about the lost lynx, for whom I feel so sorry, I think the discussion has been interesting and worthwhile.

[Sbom]

Anyhow 

Have they caught it yet? Poor thing must be terrified

[Fleecewife]

Anyhow 

Have they caught it yet? Poor thing must be terrified

Last I heard he's been spotted but not rounded up yet.  I think he'll be getting a persecution complex 

[devonlady]

Poor dear! He may well be confused now but how will he feel being kept in captivity having tasted freedom. My land is almost on the edge of Dartmoor, but I worry more about careless dog walkers (and working farm dogs!) than a lynx.

[Fleecewife]

So he's been caught and returned to the zoo.