Reintroduction of Wolves and Lynx into Britain

[Sully]

Not exactly Britain but close enough

Minister pours cold water on calls for return of wolves to Ireland

The Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has poured cold water on calls to reintroduce wolves to Ireland.
Green Party leader Eamon Ryan had called for the reintroduction of the predator to help rewild parts of the countryside.
The last wolf in Ireland was killed near Mount Leinster in 1786.
Mr Ryan said their reintroduction would create a real sense of wilderness and help develop more resilient woodlands.
However, Minister Josepha Madigan has said her department has no plans to reintroduce the species.

In a tweet, she said that the reintroduction of a large predator that had been absent for 250 years might undermine existing conservation programmes.

"The reintroduction of a large predator which has been absent for 250 years might undermine existing conservation programmes and would do considerable damage to farming."

Ms Madigan also said their reintroduction would do considerable damage to farming.
Meanwhile, a Dáil motion, being brought forward by the Greens, is calling for a switch away from short-rotation plantations to more natural woodlands.
"It is now time to change our ways and restore nature in every Irish landscape, neighbourhood, farm, home and street," Mr Ryan said.


https://twitter.com/rtepolitics/status/1...-wolves%2F


https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/2019/10...33-wolves/


The response to this article has been far from positive. It shows we have a long way to go until the public psyche is collectively ready for the reintroduction of wolves. It's a shame that the first thing people think of when they hear wolves is attacks on people and livestock, with the first being increasingly rare, and the second something that can be mitigated with proper preventative measures. Even more unfortunate that they value farmers' profit margins over the ecology of their wilderness, with many seeing this as an attack on farmers. There's a false dichotomy in the minds of many between people and animals. It reminds me of a talk given by the leader of the snow leopard trust, who said that it is not about helping humans or animals in conservation, it's about finding a compromise between these two variables which benefit both. Animals need to be seen as a part of the basic furniture that we have to account for, rather than an exotic addition. The response isn't even about the feesability of actualising a reintroduction which of course will have to be critically evaluated, rather it's the very concept itself which people are staunchly opposed to, irrationally at that.

Without doubt lynx have to be reintroduced first. They're a less scary predator and won't pose any threat to humans. Hopefully if their reintroduction is succesful and the benefits of it are illustrated to the public, down the road people may warm to the idea of wolves. That's still a long way away at the moment though. Reply