SIR, – I was interested in your article on lynx (‘Sheep sector concern that Gove is blasé’ about lynx, October 7 issue) and in particular the reference to the devolution settlement in Scotland.

With the proposed release site being so close to the Border, then yes, we might expect the Scottish Government to be consulted.

There is an implication in the National Sheep Association (NSA) comments that the Scottish Government might well be against such a release, although, of course, their track record is very much to be in favour of re-introductions, even somewhat controversial ones.

The interesting thing, though, is that in 2009 the Scottish Government re-introduced beavers in to Scotland without any consultation south of the Border.

In doing so, they set up a situation whereby beavers could eventually cross the Border naturally into England and have to be accepted, whether they wanted them or not.

So, there is an important issue here as to how re-introductions are consulted on within the UK, making sure that everyone is able to have their say.

If the EU Habitats Directive was repatriated to Scotland without any UK dimension, for example, you could have a situation, for the sake of argument, that the UK Government turned down an application to re-introduce lynx, the Scottish Government allowed a trial, and they then moved in to England anyway.

There is a serious issue right at the heart of all this that we all need to be aware off, namely, how do these re introductions work across borders and are they really future-proofed?

It is also important not to assume that a particular government will take a certain view, when the next administration to come along might take precisely the opposite view. This is why the legislation repatriated in the Great Repeal Bill will take many, many years to debate and repatriate properly.

The UK government has a mandate to bring back EU powers to this country. The Scottish Government doesn’t have a mandate to bring certain legislation back and leave others where they are, or certain aspects of them at least.

We need time to have that debate, do it with our eyes open, and make sure powers are not grabbed by Holyrood without the full implications being known or understood.

There are lots of potential unintended consequences even in seemingly benign legislation. Let us not allow politics to dictate the right way forwards.

Victor Clements

Mamies’s Cottage,

Taybridge Terrace,

Aberfeldy,

Perthshire