ONE year on from the initial licence application by Lynx UK Trust to introduce the wildcat into Kielder, the National Sheep Association is reiterating its fears about the proposal.

There is still no indication which way the decision - ultimately to be taken by Defra Minister Michael Gove - to release four female and two male lynx on a five-year trial will go and the NSA is keeping up the pressure in the meantime.

The act would have many negative consequences, not just for sheep but also for wild species and the lynx themselves, said chief executive Phil Stocker. "UK farming is not set up to deal with this kind of predator, and we feel very strongly that its reintroduction would be hugely damaging.

"This doesn't just apply to livestock and the livelihoods of those who make their living on the land, but to all wildlife and ecosystems.

"The lynx has been extinct in the UK for more than 1,000 years and the UK's natural life would not be prepared for this level of new predator."

While Kielder and north-western parts of the Scottish Highlands had been cited as providing suitable habitat and sufficient food sources, they were isolated from other similar types of area, meaning the minimum population of lynx needed to avoid the welfare issues of in-breeding and genetic deformities could not be achieved.

In addition, lynx were known to feed on red squirrels and ground nesting birds such as the curlew. He said: "The bare fact of the matter is the lynx does not belong in the UK wildlife ecosystem anymore."

Norway, which Lynx UK had posited as a good example of a place where Eurasian lynx were thriving, was in actual fact struggling to cope with the big cats.

"Unlike in the UK, sheep are regularly housed or penned at night time in Norway and are often herded by shepherds by day," said Mr Stocker. "Even then, we hear of lynx clearing a six-foot gate to kill and take sheep.

"With UK sheep roaming freely and unattended for most of the day they are highly likely to be even more at risk."

He added that NSA took it as a positive sign that a year had passed since the licence application was submitted, as it demonstrated the matter was being thoroughly considered. The organisation would continue to raise its concerns as the process continued.