Following the recent, reckless, illegal release of lynx in the Highlands and mindful of historical prosecution failings linked to illegal beaver releases in Tayside, NFU Scotland’s President Martin Kennedy has this week written to Jim Fairlie MSP, Minister for Farming and Alasdair Allan MSP, Acting Minister for Climate Change, to stress the importance of finding and holding perpetrators behind illegal releases to account swiftly.

In his letter to Ministers, Mr Kennedy said, “The recent illegal release of four lynx in the Cairngorms was a highly irresponsible act, but sadly one our members have been predicting for some time. 

“We are extremely grateful for the swift action taken in recapturing the animals, but we believe more must be done to identify the individuals responsible and to bring them to justice. We welcomed the issue being raised at First Minister’s Questions on Thursday 9 January, during which the First Minister stated that ‘it should not have happened, it was an illegal act, and I join you in condemning it’. I therefore write to urge you to make resources available to fully investigate this crime. 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.

“NFUS 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, NatureScot and Scottish Government chose to allow the animals to stay, under the auspice of a trail, allowing the numbers to expand and receive protected status. Environmentalists and the public vilified landowners for wanting to protect their land against damage whilst applauding those who committed the unlawful release. 

“We recognise that in the Tayside case no suspects were ever identified, preventing them from receiving penalties and rural crimes are often difficult to solve due to their remoteness. 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.”

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