SHEEP farmers have turned down an invitation to help design the proposed lynx re-introduction programme.
Refusing an offer of a place on Lynx UK's project advisory group, National Sheep Association chief executive Phil Stocker said: “Our understanding is the project advisory group will design the trial that will only go ahead if Lynx UK is successful in gaining a licence from Natural England and/or Scottish Natural Heritage. 
"We feel it is inappropriate for NSA to provide guidance to Lynx UK ahead of that licence application, as we remain opposed to any pilot taking place. 
“NSA does not feel the meeting with Lynx UK adequately responded to the concerns of sheep farmers, which are not limited solely to the predation of lynx on sheep. We continue to have genuine concerns about the wider impact lynx would have on the delicate balance of food production, environment and rural communities in the countryside, as well as implications for animal welfare and disease control. We remain opposed to the pilot and do not agree with Lynx UK that we should help design the trial in order to determine the criteria by which it would be deemed a success or failure."
Mr Stocker said that, in the event of an application for a licence being submitted, NSA would expect to be involved, to make clear to the relevant licensing authority the "many reasons" why the UK is unsuitable for this pilot and the conditions that would need to be in place in the unlikely event of a licence being granted. 
"Lynx UK has suggested involvement in its Project Advisory Group would be the only way to air these views, but NSA will continue to use any mechanism we choose to make our concerns as widely heard as possible,” he said.
"It is unacceptable to threaten the welfare of sheep and the livelihood of farmers with this scheme and it is NSA’s aim to ensure Lynx UK and its supporters cannot continue to ignore the vital role of sheep in underpinning countryside management and supporting rural communities.”