Lynx plans for Kielder Forest rejected

Michael Gove, Defra’s Secretary of State has rejected plans by the Lynx UK Trust to release 6 Eurasian Lynx into Kielder Forest in Northumberland.

It's estimated that the last Lynxes in Britain died out 1000 years ago, and Kielder was considered the best place to reintroduce them.

The proposals sparked considerable public interest, as it is the first time a large predatory species might have been brought back into the UK.

Natural England and Defra said that they weren't confident that reintroducing the cats would be successful, and so the request was denied.