Sir, – I suppose it must be a sign of old age that I did not make the connection sooner.

Those of us who occasionally watch TV will know that a certain brand of male toiletries attempts to sell on the basis of an alleged hypnotic effect on the fair sex. I have to think that the Lynx group are guilty of being bewitched by their own propaganda.

The Kielder Forest was not a forest as such until the 1920s when the Forestry Commission started planting to build up the forest area in the country lost to WW1. It extends to about 650 square km, with about 20 km of it along the shore of the North Sea. The rest of it's boundary is at least 60 km long and is crossed by nine roads and five railway lines.

Fencing the land border with something like a deer fence would cost in the region of £1m. This does not take into account provisions to prevent wildlife 'leaking through' at the 14 crossings.

The Lynx Trust claims it should be able to fund all sorts of things with the eco tourism generated. If the six animals introduced spread out they will be about 10 km apart from one another.

It is a bit insulting and patronising for the trust to claim that they will be able to help and advise farmers about lamb losses.Why do they bother?

Most countries in the EU have a larger area of forest, percentage wise, than Scotland, let alone England, and I have yet to find mention of an eco tourism industry anywhere amongst them featuring lynx as the main attraction.

Where it is promoted is in much more confined zoo parks where people have some chance of observing the animals . As Yogi Berra said: "It's deja vu all over again" – only it's big cats instead of sea eagles and beaver.

Sandy Henderson

Faulds Farm,

Dunblane,

Perthshire.