In response to the Lynx UK Trust’s submission of a formal application to Natural England to release Eurasian lynx into Kielder Forest, Northumberland, the Kennel Club, which owns the neighbouring Emblehope and Burngrange estate, has issued the below statement:
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: "The Kennel Club, as landowner of the Emblehope and Burngrange estate in Northumberland, supports the views of the National Farmers Union and National Sheep Association and has serious concerns over proposals to reintroduce Eurasian lynx, a species extinct for over one thousand years in England, into the wild at neighbouring Kielder Forest.
"Our main concern is for the protection of the livestock, particularly sheep, on the estate, which are grazed primarily to maintain the ecosystem of the land, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as part of a management plan agreed with Natural England. Even one attack on a sheep by a lynx could have huge impact on the rest of the flock, huge stress effects on the remaining animals and could seriously affect pregnant ewes.
"For this reason we would not support efforts to reintroduce Eurasian lynx at Kielder Forest."
