Lynx and wolves are likely to become feared and hated if they are reintroduced into Britain’s forests, the adventurer and broadcaster Ray Mears has warned.
Speaking at Cheltenham science festival, he said Britain was not ready for such rewilding schemes, despite the potential ecological benefits.
“I don’t think we should be discussing reintroducing lynx or wolf at this stage because we still have two apex predators that we can’t live with – the hen harrier and the golden eagle,” he said. “These are still being poisoned.”
Until there is better management of existing predators and viable compensation schemes and incentives for farmers and gamekeepers, he added, “I don’t think we have the right to play God.”
Speaking after the talk, he gave the example of Idaho, where the reintroduction of wolves has led to “monumental” hatred of the animals among many people there. In Sweden, he said, bringing back wolves almost led to a change of government after people’s dogs were eaten.
“These animals only have to consume somebody’s dog and they then become the hound of hell – and what happens is you end up with more hatred for the animal than before you started, which is counterproductive in the long term,” he said.
In recent years, support has grown for the idea of reintroducing species that once lived in the UK, and Mears said there were positive examples, including the successful reintroduction of beavers in Argyll. Some people are now calling for the reintroduction of wolves and lynx, which could help restore forests by keeping roe deer and rabbit populations in check. Scotland and Northumberland have been proposed as suitable locations for wild lynx, which were last seen in Britain more than 1,000 years ago.
However, Mears said that such efforts would be challenging. “We don’t have vast tracts of wilderness, but we have a broken landscape made up of urban conurbation and farmland,” he said.
Even in the most remote areas, there is the question of whether predators will settle at the site after they are reintroduced. “The problem is you can’t contain them,” Mears said. “They are wild animals. They’re very intelligent, incredibly intelligent.”
He added that while deer often learned to avoid predators, the same was not true of livestock. “The deer will very quickly learn and become very intelligent … but the sheep don’t, so the wolf will obviously go for the sheep.”
Dr Rob Stoneman of the Wildlife Trusts said: “The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world and people are fed up with hearing about catastrophic declines. A recent poll showed 76% of people are worried about the state of nature and we all want to see change – for the sake of our wildlife, wellbeing and climate.
“Reintroducing apex predators such as lynx would play a vital role in helping to restore nature because they have hugely positive effects on woodlands – in the UK many woods are known to be in poor condition.
“They’re badly needed to help maintain balanced numbers of other animals so that woods can regenerate. Lynx are shy creatures that keep their distance from humans, and they’ve been welcomed back across Europe as a beautiful icon of nature recovery. It’s time we did the same.”
