The SNP’s failure to punish the illegal release of beavers in Scotland has encouraged rogue rewilders to do the same with lynx, farmers have warned after four of the animal were captured in the Highlands.
Martin Kennedy, NFU Scotland’s president, warned that “illegal releases will become the norm” thanks to the SNP government’s decision to allow beavers unlawfully freed in Tayside to remain.
In a letter to SNP ministers, he said the lack of any punishment against the culprits had “provided a model for environmental groups wanting to bypass due process and clear legal requirements to force rewilding of species”.
Mr Kennedy said farmers had “been predicting for some time” the illegal release of lynx after two pairs of the animal were captured in the Highlands last week.
Although he welcomed John Swinney, the First Minister, condemning the release of the lynx, he argued that SNP ministers now needed to send “a clear message” by providing the “resources” to ensure the culprits were tracked down and prosecuted.
One of four lynxes that was captured in the Highlands. One theory is that the animals were released into the wilderness by ‘rewilding’ campaigners – PA/Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
Police investigating last week’s two lynx releases suspect the cases are connected. The first pair were captured on Wednesday last week and the second on Friday, near Kingussie.
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland said they showed signs of starvation. One died and the other three were being cared for at Edinburgh Zoo.
Rewilding campaigners want to bring them back to Scotland, with the Cairngorms and Argyll previously identified as possible locations for up to 400 lynx.
However, they also condemned the illegal release of the four and said it had damaged the case for an authorised release.
Credit: RZSS
Scotland’s beaver population has increased steeply since they first appeared in Perthshire, Tayside and Angus after they were illegally released around 20 years ago.
They repeatedly dammed large drainage ditches that have been vital to farming in the area for many decades, felled thousands of trees and their burrows have caused banks to collapse.
But SNP ministers started an official reintroduction programme in 2009 in Knapdale Forest, Argyll and they are now a protected native species.
In 2021, ministers gave the green light to translocating beavers away from areas where they have caused problems for farmers to other parts of Scotland, including Loch Lomond.
Mr Kennedy wrote to Jim Fairlie, the SNP Farming Minister, and Alasdair Allan, the Climate Change Minister, to state the illegal release of the four lynx was “a highly irresponsible act, but sadly one our members have been predicting for some time”.
He said: “NFU’s members have been increasingly concerned about illegal rewilding releases. The illegal release of beavers in Tayside in 2006 provided a model for environmental groups wanting to bypass due process and clear legal requirements to force re-wilding of species.
“The lack of sanctions against the individuals who released the beavers in Tayside, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage, has always been a bitter pill for farmers to swallow.
“Those who perpetrated the crime had clear intentions [but] NatureScot and Scottish Government chose to allow the animals to stay, under the auspices of a trial, allowing the numbers to expand and receive protected status.”
Mr Kennedy added that landowners had been “vilified” for trying to protect their farms against damage, while the culprits who released the beavers were never identified or punished.
“The lack of consequence in this case has led to a spate of ‘beaver bombings’ in England, where similar illegal releases have taken place, causing concerns from our members that illegal releases will become the norm,” he said.
The SNP started an official beaver reintroduction programme in 2009 – Beaver Trust
The NFU president said the union was extremely grateful for the swift action taken to capture the lynx, but added: “The persons responsible must be identified and they must receive sanctions sending a clear message that illegal releases will not be tolerated in Scotland.
“The illegal release of species onto our rural land is a wildlife crime, therefore those who carry out this act must be justly prosecuted.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Unauthorised releases are illegal and completely unacceptable.
“Releasing or allowing an animal to escape outwith its native range is an offence under section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, punishable by up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. We cannot comment on an ongoing police investigation however we will respond to the letter in due course.”