Photo: a wild Eurasian lynx in Norway. Credit: Tom Bech via Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)
Charity partnership Lynx to Scotland announced this month they will hold public consultations in the Highland and Moray regions on lynx reintroduction, reigniting years of debate on the prospect.
The Eurasian lynx was once native to Britain but went extinct in Scotland an estimated 1300 years ago. Proponents of reintroduction argue that lynx, a medium-size wild cat and natural predator of deer and foxes, would help restore balance to ecosystems and boost rural economies through wildlife tourism. Opponents contend the threat posed to livestock could be devastating to the agricultural sector.
In continental Europe, where lynx reintroduction and conservation efforts have been underway for decades and growing populations exist in several regions, damage to livestock has been relatively minimal.
The evidence from Europe
Eberhard Gemmingen, chairman of the Northern Bavaria Lynx Working Group in Germany, suggested no issues have arisen in the 10 years since the group began introducing lynx to forested areas of northern Bavaria, with an estimated 12 lynx now residing in the region.
He said: “To date, there have been no attacks on livestock such as cattle, sheep, or goats. Livestock farmers throughout Germany do not see the lynx as a problem. Our lynx primarily prey on roe deer.”
Gemmingen, also the Vice President of the Bavarian Hunting Association, further noted that hunters have not observed notable ecological changes to the area, which already contained large swaths of contiguous forest and a diverse range of flora and fauna.
In contrast, healthy woodland ecosystems are rare in Scotland. Recovery efforts have been slowed by overgrazing by the deer population–ballooning in the absence of natural predators–which causes soil erosion and inhibits new growth. Reintroduction advocates argue lynx could enable forest restoration and recovery by mitigating this hindrance.
Gemmingen added: “My conclusion after 10 years: lynx prey on deer (when there are enough) and have little impact on other animal species; livestock are not preyed upon by lynx, or only very rarely; their impact on the ecosystem is minimal, but lynx are a great emotional enrichment for the people living here. “
Mr Gemmingen’s insights are grounded in a limited sample: even stretching beyond northern Bavaria, he estimates there are only 120 lynx in all of Germany. Broader insights from across continental Europe reveal lynx can pose a threat to livestock, especially sheep, but their overall impact is marginal in most regions.
A 2024 study reported that the average lynx killed less than 1 sheep per year in every European country with the notable exception of Norway, where the average lynx kills 16 sheep per year. This outlier is attributed to Norwegian sheep roaming freely across woodland habitats populated by lynx, in contrast to sheep primarily occupying open pastures elsewhere.
In all lynx-populated regions, most attacks on livestock occurred in or adjacent to woodland areas and amounted to a small share of lynx diets, indicating lynx do not generally seek out sheep as a primary food source nor venture out of their woodland habitats to prey on livestock.
Do European insights translate to Scotland?
Reintroduction opponents in Scotland maintain this evidence does not assure similar results in the unique environmental and agricultural conditions at home.
In a statement opposing reintroduction published last week, National Farmers Union of Scotland policy manager Georgia Watson said: “Unlike in some European countries, Scotland’s sheep systems are truly extensive, with animals spread across large areas rather than kept in small, protected groups or brought into secure enclosures at night. We simply don’t have the evidence to know what might happen in Scotland”.
The statement further referenced the impact of the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles, which prey on lambs in some areas, as evidence of the risks involved, echoing a similar comparison from First Minister John Swinney last year.
The white-tailed eagle is one of several once-native species to be reintroduced to Scotland in recent decades, with results celebrated as successful in the context of conservation and ecological restoration goals. However, no terrestrial predator which could threaten livestock has been reintroduced thus far.
Regardless of any community input received in upcoming consultations, the prospect of wild lynx in Scottish woodlands remains distant with the Scottish Government continuing to back agricultural groups in opposing the campaign.
