{"id":2230134,"date":"2026-10-30T15:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2230134"},"modified":"2026-10-30T15:15:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T12:15:53","slug":"wildlife-body-loses-lynx-reintroduction-high-court-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2230134","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife body loses lynx reintroduction High Court challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3d84\/live\/7b2c6a10-d470-11f1-9dda-1ba6fcc7d159.jpg”]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"GettyGetty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Lynx UK Trust wants to release the big cats into Kielder Forest<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

An organisation trying to bring lynx back to northern England has lost a High Court challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Lynx UK Trust applied for a three-year trial in 2022 which could have seen three of the animals from Sweden released into Kielder Forest, but it was refused by Natural England. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The trust challenged the environmental body over the refusal to proceed to a full assessment but Ms Justice Obi dismissed the claim, saying: “On Natural England’s understanding of the law, the proposed release could not lawfully be implemented.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The big cats have been extinct in the wild in the UK for centuries, but those backing reintroduction have claimed it would benefit biodiversity and control deer populations. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

In July, Northumberland County Council backed a motion stating it would not support any effort to release lynx into the wild, but a consultation last year found 72% of respondents in the North East supported the reintroduction of the big cats. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Non-aligned Rothbury councillor Steven Bridgett, who proposed the council’s motion, called the High Court result excellent. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\"BenBen Birchall\/PA Wire<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Lynx vanished in Britain 800 years ago due to hunting and loss of their woodland habitat<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Lynx UK Trust originally applied in 2017 for six lynx to be released into the forest as part of a five-year trial, but this was refused by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the following year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The group then submitted a revised proposal in 2022 for a three-year trial involving the release of the three lynx from Sweden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

But that was also refused by Natural England the same year, with the body claiming such a release was prohibited by the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 (DWAA), which makes it an offence to release certain animals into the wild. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Lynx UK Trust challenged the refusal in the High Court, with its lawyers claiming the animals could still be released under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (WCA).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The WCA allows authorities to issue licences for the release of animals which are not “ordinarily resident” in the wild in the UK, despite the terms of DWAA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The trust also argued at the hearing earlier this month the terms of the DWAA had been “impliedly repealed” by the terms of the WCA.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Natural England and Defra opposed the claim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

In a 16-page judgment, Obi said: “Properly construed, the DWAA continues to apply to lynx as a scheduled dangerous wild animal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

“I am unable to accept either the claimant’s primary submission that the Act ceases to apply upon deliberate release pursuant to a licence under… the WCA, or its alternative submission that the relevant provisions have been impliedly repealed by the later enactment of the WCA.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

Follow BBC North East on <\/i>X<\/i>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>Nextdoor<\/i> and <\/i>Instagram<\/i> and listen to <\/i>Radio Newcastle on BBC Sounds<\/i>. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c9e8lp7m3nzko”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/3d84\/live\/7b2c6a10-d470-11f1-9dda-1ba6fcc7d159.jpg”] Getty Images Lynx UK Trust wants to release the big cats into Kielder Forest An organisation trying to bring lynx back to northern England has lost a High Court challenge. Lynx UK Trust applied for a three-year trial in 2022 which could have seen three of the animals from Sweden released into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2230134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2230134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2230134\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2230134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2230134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2230134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}