Farmers meeting on lynx rewilding
Date: 16th August 2017
Time: 19.30
Location: Elsdon Village Hall, Elsdon, Northumberland, NE19 1AB
With a formal application to trial a release of lynx in Kielder Forest now submitted, NSA was pleased to welcome locals from Elsdon, Northumberland for a local’s discussion meeting on Wednesday 16th August. Organised by NSA with support from NFU and the British Deer Society (BDS), the discussion gave these organisations opportinty to gather further the view-points of more than 100 stakeholders living close to the proposed release site of Kielder Forest.
NSA Chief Executive Phil Stocker reports: “Such an attendance clearly demonstrates the strength of feeling and the lack of listening to local people by Lynx UK Trust who have lodged the application. Also clear is the passion that these farmers hold for their environment and the wildlife that they and public money have invested heavily in for many years particularly for iconic species such as the red squirrel and the curlew that is the emblem of Northumberland National Park. Both these species are known to be prey for lynx and both are already under pressure from other predators, therefore raising the question of what sort of countryside we want. We already know that thousands of visitors come to places like Northumberland because of its beautiful landscape, its wildlife, its farming culture and rural communities. All these go together and livestock farming is the foundation upon which most of this is built. There is a lot of work for us to do on this subject and Wednesday’s meeting has helped enormously”.
