Faith: My name鈥檚 Faith and I live in the North East. I probably would say that I love the North East only because of the countryside. I read lots of local reports about this new project that wants to reintroduce the lynx cat back in to the wild in Kielder Forest.
Faith: I don鈥檛 know much about lynxes, all I know is that they are a wild cat.
Male: The last lynx in Britain was killed for its fur 1300 years ago.
Faith: I thought it would be bigger but it鈥檚 not. I thought it would be the size of like a big tiger. But it looks a bit like a cub. And Kielder isn鈥檛 far away from where I live so I loved to see lynxes running outside of my house and that would be pretty cool.However, some people say that it鈥檚 a bad idea and I want to find out why.
Faith: Rewilding. Is rewilding a good idea?
Faith: Great. Paul from the Lynx Trust is happy to talk to me. But first I want to write down some questions. The Lynx Trust has asked the government if it can conduct a trial to reintroduce the lynx into Northumberland. I want to know why.
Faith: Oh, Paul鈥檚 ringing.
Faith: Hi Paul.
Paul O鈥橠onoghue: Hi.
Faith: Dr Paul O鈥橠onoghue is in charge of the project at the Lynx Trust.
Faith: Why do they need to be released?
Paul O鈥橠onoghue: Lynx should be here. They belong here as much as a hedgehog or a badger. Our forests are less healthy without them.
Faith: Letting the lynx be released would it increase any tourism?
Paul O鈥橠onoghue: Lynx are real drivers of tourism. So in Germany where they鈥檝e been reintroduced they generate about 拢12M a year for tourism which is a massive amount. Imagine that money coming into Kielder Forest.
Faith: How are farmers so against lynxes when they haven鈥檛 been around for about 1,300 years?
Paul O鈥橠onoghue: The scientific information says that a lynx kills a sheep about once in every two and a half years. But if a lynx does happen to kill a sheep then we鈥檒l give him all his money back.
Faith: Thanks Paul.
Paul O鈥橠onoghue: You鈥檙e very welcome. Bye, bye,
Faith: Bye.
Faith: At this point my mind is definitely for. There鈥檚 no reason for anybody to be scared of them and he鈥檚 given me a lot of facts. And even a bit of evidence and science definitely helps win me over on that one.
Faith: I鈥檓 on my way to Kielder because I need to hear both sides of the story before I make up my mind.
Faith: Kielder Forest is just a 60 mile drive from my school in Gateshead. The lynx Trust wants to release six lynx into this 250 square mile forest because Kielder is big, has few roads and a lot of deer, the lynx鈥 favourite food.
Faith: Brilliant, a local farmer. Just the person I want to talk to.
Faith: This is huge. There is plenty of room for lynxes. This is amazing.
Faith: I want to find out why Dennis is so against the lynx project.
Faith: Hi Dennis.
Dennis Salt: Hello. And welcome to Rattenraw Farm.
Faith: Thank you.
Faith: What is your view straight up about the lynxes?
Dennis Salt: The straight up view about the lynx I don鈥檛 actually think that they should be reintroduced. The Lynx Trust have openly admitted the lynx will definitely predate on sheep and lambs.
Faith: If a sheep was killed by a lynx would the compensation help you or is it just there鈥檚 no point?
Dennis Salt: I don鈥檛 want sheep killing in the first place. So compensation isn鈥檛 a priority.
Faith: Do you see any good points about the tourism side?
Dennis Salt: I think it would actually be a minimal amount of tourism because the lynx are very elusive. Nobody would know where they are apart from the people who are actually tracking them.
Faith: I wonder if the farmer next door agrees with Dennis.
Hi my name鈥檚 Faith. So are you for it or against it?
Gerald Todd: Definitely, 100% against it. It will affect our income and our way of life. It鈥檚 the final nail in the coffin really. So it鈥檚 just a non-starter as far as I鈥檓 concerned.
Faith: I鈥檇 actually like to take a picture of you guys. I didn鈥檛 think it would be like this. I thought I would just make my decision there and then after interviewing both sides. But it鈥檚 really difficult. I don鈥檛 know how I can choose. I think I need to do a little bit more research before I do definitely make my mind up.
Faith: I鈥檓 interested to know if it鈥檚 really only farmers in the local area who think this way. I really want to hear some more opinions.Are you interested in animals and nature?
Michelle Grant: Yeah, love it. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 here.
Faith: Would you like to see lynxes running wild?
Michelle Grant: Yeah, I鈥檇 love it. I think it sounds like a great idea as long as it obviously doesn鈥檛 upset the local ecosystem. You know, like it鈥檚 not running around tearing up our deer, and that鈥檚 a bit of a worry.
Michael Ryan: Certainly all the farmers are against it. But I don鈥檛 farm. I鈥檓 not a land owner and so I鈥檓 fairly neutral.
Michael Brown: It is the most remote village in England and we rely on tourism. And reintroducing the lynxes will bring people into Kielder and it鈥檚 better for business and the local community.
Faith: It鈥檚 really difficult because the people in the restaurants said they were really looking forward to seeing the lynxes. However, farmer Dennis said you won鈥檛 actually be able to see them anyways.
Faith: So, I鈥檝e spoken to people on both sides of the rewilding argument. All their views are convincing but I think I鈥檓 ready to make up my own mind.
Faith: At first I was all for the lynxes. I thought they were really cute, loving animals but then speaking to farmer Dennis definitely changed my mind. Because it鈥檚 not right. He does this for a living and if the sheep are taken away from him he鈥檚 got no living. And it鈥檚 exactly the same for the farmers over there, over there and over there.
Faith: I am against this. I don鈥檛 want this to go ahead. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 very practical. There鈥檚 no need to bring an animal in that was here 1.300 years ago.
Faith, a student from Tyneside, looks at the pros and cons of rewilding, and investigates plans to reintroduce the lynx into parts of Kielder Forest for the first time in 1,300 years.
First faith talks to a representative of the Lynx Trust and then travels to Kielder Forest to see it for herself.
She is initially very positive about the prospect of seeing lynx running wild in the forest again.
Then, Faith visits local farmers who are concerned about the threat to their livestock.
She also meets tourists and local residents and business people who are positive about the return of the lynx.
Finally, she tells us the conclusion she has reached.
This clip is from the series Geography: The Big Issues.
Teacher Notes
This could be used to set up a class investigation into other types of rewilding in the UK and other parts of the world.
Students could write a list of positive and negative points for rewilding.
Students could then research other examples of rewilding around the world and compare these projects with re-introducing the lynx.
Students could then present their findings.
This might then lead to a debate about conservation projects like this.
Curriculum Notes
This clip will be relevant for teaching Geography at Key Stage 3 and 4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 3rd and 4th Level (S1/S2/S3) in Scotland.
More from the series Geography: The Big Issues
Geography KS3/4: Using the greenbelt. video
A student investigates the pros and cons of building on the greenbelt.
Geography KS3/4: Fracking. video
A student investigates the pros and cons of fracking by speaking to advocates and opponents.
Geography KS3/4: Intensive farming. video
A student from North Norfolk investigates the pros and cons of intensive farming.
