Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's policy is on rewilding lynxes.

The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 prohibits the release of species that are not ordinarily resident in the wild, without a licence granted by Natural England.

If a licence application for the reintroduction of lynx is received, Natural England would consider it carefully in accordance with appropriate international guidelines, taking account of socio-economic impacts and the impact on the welfare of the animals themselves.