Sir, – In The SF of November 11, you report the killing of seven sheep in the matter of days by an escaped lynx in Wales – the same species of lynx they propose to release in our countryside.

I am flabbergasted at the comment by Dr Paul O’Donoghue, the Lynx UK Trust spokesman, who claimed that this killing incident was ‘a completely irrelevant situation’, compared with the trust’s plans to release these killers in the UK countryside.

He goes on to claim that the escapee was ‘not a professional lynx’. Is this guy for real? ‘It hasn’t been taught to hunt’ he claimed. If it managed to kill seven sheep in a few days without any training and in an amateur capacity, how much better at killing can we expect a professional lynx to be?

I have seen photos in the newspapers in Norway of the outcome of a lynx attack on sheep. It was not a pretty sight. Blood and dead sheep everywhere.

The UK Lynx Trust seeks to introduce breeding pairs of this mass killer to the UK where the lynx has not been for 1000 years. Surely this proposal is like re-introducing dinosaurs.

It is my sincere hope that the Scottish Government will reject any application to bring them to Scotland. Sheep farmers must have the fervent hope that will be our national decision.

Jim McGugan

Letham,

Forfar.