The Lynx UK Trust says the reintroduction plans would bring in millions of pounds and plenty of tourists to the region if they went ahead.
Big cats could make Galloway Forest the top dog when it comes to making money.
That’s the hope of the Lynx UK Trust which believes a new project to reintroduce the species could be worth millions of pounds to the local economy.
They claim Dumfries and Galloway is “wonderfully placed” to once again host the Eurasion Lynx, last seen in Britain 1,300 years ago.
Last month the trust launched a national survey on the reintroduction of the cats to three parts of the UK for a five-year trial.
But their ultimate aim is to have hundreds of lynx prowling the countryside, including in the Stewartry, as soon as possible.
The survey found that 91 per cent of the 9,000 people asked backed a reintroduction.
Lynx UK Trust spokesman Steve Piper said: “We feel there’s a hugely exciting potential in this area; from Galloway across to Ettrick and Kielder in Northumberland there’s some of the most extensive forestry in the UK, the preferred habitat of the lynx, with plenty of their preferred prey (deer) and relatively few roads or other human developments which lynx aren’t so keen on.
“Connecting these areas together over time with forestry corridors would create a considerable habitat for all our forest species and a lot of opportunity for the further development of eco-tourism there. Lynx presence is worth millions of pounds every year to local economies and Dumfries and Galloway is really wonderfully placed to offer a great wildlife experience to tourists.”
Greatly varied in size, Eurasian lynx tend to be between 80cm to 130cm long with males weighing up to 40kg.
source
That’s the hope of the Lynx UK Trust which believes a new project to reintroduce the species could be worth millions of pounds to the local economy.
They claim Dumfries and Galloway is “wonderfully placed” to once again host the Eurasion Lynx, last seen in Britain 1,300 years ago.
Last month the trust launched a national survey on the reintroduction of the cats to three parts of the UK for a five-year trial.
But their ultimate aim is to have hundreds of lynx prowling the countryside, including in the Stewartry, as soon as possible.
The survey found that 91 per cent of the 9,000 people asked backed a reintroduction.
Lynx UK Trust spokesman Steve Piper said: “We feel there’s a hugely exciting potential in this area; from Galloway across to Ettrick and Kielder in Northumberland there’s some of the most extensive forestry in the UK, the preferred habitat of the lynx, with plenty of their preferred prey (deer) and relatively few roads or other human developments which lynx aren’t so keen on.
“Connecting these areas together over time with forestry corridors would create a considerable habitat for all our forest species and a lot of opportunity for the further development of eco-tourism there. Lynx presence is worth millions of pounds every year to local economies and Dumfries and Galloway is really wonderfully placed to offer a great wildlife experience to tourists.”
Greatly varied in size, Eurasian lynx tend to be between 80cm to 130cm long with males weighing up to 40kg.
source
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