{"id":229961,"date":"2026-01-06T07:13:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:13:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/229961\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T07:13:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T07:13:14","slug":"highland-and-moray-locals-to-be-asked-for-views-on-lynx-reintroduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/229961\/","title":{"rendered":"Highland and Moray locals to be asked for views on lynx reintroduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ScotlandScotland Big Picture<\/p>\n

Lynx prey mostly on roe deer but they are also known to take sheep<\/p>\n

The possibility of reintroducing lynx to Scotland will be put to communities in the Highlands and Moray later this month. <\/p>\n

The Lynx to Scotland Partnership say the region offers good habitat for the species with enough woodland and their favoured prey, roe deer to support up to 250 cats.<\/p>\n

However, lynx are also known to take sheep and concerns have been voiced about their potential return by farmers and crofters. <\/p>\n

Last year First Minister John Swinney ruled out<\/a> the reintroduction of the species. <\/p>\n

The consultation comes a year after four lynx were illegally released into the Cairngorms National Park. <\/p>\n

They were captured after several days on the run. One of the lynx died but the other three were eventually rehomed at the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie.<\/p>\n

The Lynx to Scotland Partnership condemned the way the animals were released, describing it as “illegal and irresponsible”. <\/p>\n

Police Scotland said inquiries into the incident were continuing. <\/p>\n

Lynx – which are elusive, forest dwellers about the size of a labrador dog – are thought to have died out in Scotland during the Middle Ages due to hunting and habitat loss. <\/p>\n

Since 2020 the Lynx to Scotland Partnership has been assessing whether and how they could be brought back.<\/p>\n

The partnership – involving the charities Trees for Life, Scotland: The Big Picture and The Lifescape Project – say reintroduction would have to be carefully managed and broadly accepted by the public. <\/p>\n

They say they are going to contact 89,000 households ahead of the first of 42 planned public information sessions later this month. <\/p>\n

The captured lynx were filmed after arriving at their new home at Highland Wildlife Park<\/p>\n

They say any reintroduction would begin with a small number of lynx, with up to 20 being released gradually over several years.<\/p>\n

Long-term monitoring via tracking collars and camera traps would be key, to track any negative impacts such as sheep predation, alongside benefits such as gains for biodiversity and tourism revenue.<\/p>\n

Lisa Chilton chief executive of Scotland: The Big Picture said that Scotland had lost more of its native wildlife than almost any other country.<\/p>\n

“Reintroducing lynx could help restore balance and breathe new life into Highland and Moray landscapes, but it would be essential to do this in a considered, responsible way that addresses questions and concerns”, she said.<\/p>\n

\"ScotlandScotland Big Picture<\/p>\n

Lynx are highly elusive and are very difficult to spot in the wild<\/p>\n

Steve Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, said that elsewhere in Europe lynx do occasionally prey on sheep, especially when they are in or near woodland. <\/p>\n

“Crofters and farmers are absolutely right to be concerned”, he said.<\/p>\n

“We have to work with them to figure out, if lynx were to return to Scotland, how we could manage any problems really well so that farmers and crofters don’t suffer.” <\/p>\n

Any reintroduction would require a licence from NatureScot.<\/p>\n

However First Minister John Swinney ruled out any official reintroduction of lynx or any other large predator to Scotland under his government. <\/p>\n

He said that the introduction of other species such as white-tailed sea eagles had led to “unintended consequences”. <\/p>\n

And he described the illegal lynx release last January as “reckless” and “posed a serious risk to the welfare of those animals released”. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scotland Big Picture Lynx prey mostly on roe deer but they are also known to take sheep The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-229961","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}