Four lynx captured after being found on the loose in the Scottish Highlands may have come to the UK through a black market for exotic pets, say conservation experts.
Some have pointed the finger at “rogue rewilders” attempting to reintroduce the wild cat so Britain has a predator in the food chain to reduce the deer population.
However, rewilding groups distanced themselves from the episode and told The i Paper it may be down to an irresponsible exotic pet owner who gave up trying to tame the wild animals.
Police are still searching for answers after two separate pairs of lynx were captured near the small town of Kingussie in the Cairngorms national park.
One of the four illegally released animals initially taken to the Highland Wildlife Park died, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) revealed on Saturday.
The surviving lynx from the second pair, captured on Friday, is now being taken to Edinburgh Zoo to join two others captured on Thursday.
Conservative Highlands and Islands MSP Edward Mountain said he suspected “guerilla rewilding” as the reason for the “reckless and ignorant” release of the lynx into the wild.
But Steve Micklewright – a rewilding advocate attempting to reintroduce the lynx in a legal and carefully managed way – warned against jumping to conclusions.
“It’s wrong to assume it’s somebody releasing them because they want to see the lynx back in Scotland,” said Micklewright, chief executive of Trees for Life, a charity involved in the Lynx to Scotland project.
“We know some people like to buy exotic animals as pets,” he added. “The black market for exotic animals is, I would suggest, the most likely route [to their release]. It’s a possibility, because it’s difficult to see any other route.”
Karen Blackport, co-convenor of Scottish Rewilding Alliance, also said the lynx could have come from black market. She said the rising cost of keeping exotic pets by “could be a factor” in their release.
There are 21 lynx legally owned by private collectors in the UK under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act, according to figures compiled by the Born Free charity in 2023.
Born Free said more than 2,700 dangerous wild animals were being kept privately as exotic pets in Britain under these licences – including lions, tigers, cheetahs, pumas and bobcats.
Dr Paul O’Donoghue, director of the Lynx UK Trust, also claimed that exotic pet owners were the mostly likely to be responsible for the release of four animals in the Highlands.
“Allowing wild animals to be kept as exotic pets is ridiculous – it should be banned. Some people might think they can tame them and they can’t. They realise keeping wild animals is expensive, and that can lead to some being dumped.”
He added: “There is an underground black market for wild animals that is horrible, awful. It’s also possible that lynx kept under a Dangerous Wild Animals Act license have had cubs that haven’t been registered and have been released.”
Lynx were common in Great Britain before the loss of forests pushed them into extinction around 1,000 years ago.
Rewilding advocates, keen to reverse biodiversity loss, are hoping this week’s drama in the Cairngorms does not derail their efforts to bring back the lynx.
They argue that the mainly shy, medium-sized wild cats could help manage the growing deer population and boost wildlife tourism, while posing very little danger to humans.
Lynx to Scotland, a project involving three major rewilding groups, has been carrying out a consultation to discuss the idea with farmers, landowners, rambling groups and tourism chiefs.
Micklewright said talks had been “respectful and constructive”. He added: “The illegal releases don’t help – but I think the people involved in consultation discussions know this is not what sensible people do.”
Dr O’Donoghue added: “I think there’s an eagerness for a properly managed reintroduction.”
The National Farmers’ Union Scotland said the idea of placing lynx back into the wild remained “wholly unacceptable” and continues to cause “angst and anxiety” among sheep farmers.
David Field, the RZSS’s chief executive, said the abandonment of four lynx this week was “mad, bad, sad and crazy”.
The conservationist told the BBC that “rogue rewilders” could be responsible for the episode, but it could also be down to the “abandonment of animals which people can no longer look after”.
Field said a formal release of lynx could be managed responsibly, but still required a lot of work to get different community groups “onside”.
Police Scotland said the investigation to establish how the lynx came to be in the Cairngorms would continue.
