Northumberland nature reserve
community at odds over application to import six of the mammals from Sweden
Friday 3 February 2017
18.12 GMT Last modified on Friday 3 February 2017 22.00 GMT
It is the idyllic nature reserve
where walkers roam among roe deer and red squirrel while star-gazers enjoy the
biggest expanse of dark sky in the whole of Europe.
But there’s a blot on the horizon
over Kielder Forest, in Northumberland, thanks to highly contentious plans to
reintroduce the Eurasian lynx.
The move has caused a bitter
divide in the picturesque hills bordering Scotland. Campaigners say the wild
mammal, which was last seen across Britain in 700AD, would reinvigorate the
biggest forested area in Britain and control its sizeable herbivore population.
The idea has, however, caused a
deep split in the rural community. There are fears among farmers that the six
lynxes, which will be imported from Sweden, will kill their sheep and attack
deer.
An application is due to be
submitted to Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage in a matter of
weeks. If approved, the Lynx UK trust, the charity behind the proposals, hope
that the animals could be introduced into the wild as early as next year.
The local MP, Guy Opperman, is
also locked in a heated dispute with the charity, which he accused of behaving
in a “confrontational and high-handed” way.
“The way in which this
organisation have conducted their ‘consultation’ has been an object lesson in
how not to consult and how to wind up local communities,” Opperman said on
Friday.
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