Lillith the Lynx

It was all very predictable Lillith the lynx, which escaped from a Borth Zoo in Wales, has been shot.

The unfortunate creature decided to take up residence in a caravan park, which was closed in the off- season. The local council authorised the shooting on the lynx on the grounds that it was occupying a tourist area and that it was a danger to the public. The lynx had entered a heavily populated area.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/13/escaped-lynx-lillith-could-have-attacked-children-council-says/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/11/lilith-escaped-lynx-is-killed-over-growing-public-safety-fears

There were reports that the council considered that the lynx would be a danger to children. The zoo claimed that this is untrue. There also reports that the zoo were about to capture the lynx when a council officer accidentally thwarted an attempt to net the animal. This attempt would have been successful.

The killing of the lynx raises a number of issues raise a number of issues:

If the lynx was in a heavily populated area what was a marksman doing loosing off a bullet? A slip of the wrist could have seen a child being injured or even worse killed.

Was the lynx anymore dangerous than a large aggressive dog or an aggressive driver? We do not shoot dogs until they make an attack. Why should the lynx be treated differently?

If the zoo was close to netting the cat, why not allow more attempts especially as a council official  allegedly interfered with the trapping of the feline?

Are children not intelligent enough to keep away from a feral cat? When I was young I knew instinctively to keep away from a hissing and feral domestic cat and likewise the cat knew to keep away from me. I was only ever scratched by a completely domesticated cat but only then, when I annoyed it.

Why are zoos keeping species such as the lynx in captivity? There is no need to do this. The animals suffer because they are solitary and used to roaming long distances when hunting. When they are in captivity they try to hide.  Eurasian lynxes are not threatened world wide so there is no need for a captive breeding programme. However, there is a need for a captive breeding programme to re-introduce the Iberian lynx back into the Algarve.

Why does mankind have to reach for the gun when wild animals somehow present a "problem"? We are doing the same thing in relation to badgers and we reach for the gun often without evidence that the wild animal in question is really a threat. In the case of the wild boars in the Forest of Dean it has become necessary to make a cull but this is based on scientific evidence. The boar population is growing out of control because we have eliminated their predators: wolves, bears and lynxes. It seems that, in this case, the  decision to shoot the lynx was based on convenience, and lobbying from some farmers.

A lynx has never been recorded to willingly harm or kill a human being.  If left to their own devices, in the wild, they will never approach a human being. They will only strike back if we go out of our way to annoy and threaten them or harm their cubs. Even then an attack from lynx is unlikely to be fatal as they are not as powerful as leopards. If the lynx had escaped completely and had established itself in the wild, to lead the true life of a lynx, then it could have been left alone to live out its life in freedom without danger to human life. Lynx hunt deer and they rarely attack sheep.

The plan to re-introduce lynxes into the wild in the UK has been set back by this incident. Their re-introduction, based on scientific evidence, will help restore the balance of nature in areas where damage is caused by wild deer. The lynx preys upon deer and also keeps them on the move. In many areas it is too dangerous to cull the deer because we cannot shoot them if they are too close to heavily populated areas. Re-introducing the lynx will be a humane way of controlling the deer population without danger or excessive costs. The lynx will also attract tourists who will never see them, but these animal lovers can always have their dreams.

My dream is that we only reach for the gun to kill  wild animals when  they are seen to be a real problem based on scientific evidence. My dream is based on rationality but not sentiment or convenience.