Concerns have once again been raised about proposed release plans of Eurasian lynx.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has called for a full consultation before any decision is taken to reintroduce the species, after fresh application plans.

In Scotland, the Lifescape Project has reignited discussions and south of the border, the Northumberland Wildlife Trust is doing the same.

The NSA said it stood by the position it formed around the last application in 2018 by Lynx Trust UK - an application rejected by the Defra Secretary.

READ MORE | NFUS panel night calls for reform of assurance and the Union

NSA chief executive, Phil Stocker said: “NSA would advocate for a case-by-case approach to ensure there is a robust and clear strategy to ensure unintended consequences are avoided.

“As an organisation we will engage constructively with this conversation, on the understanding that it will inform whether a formal consultation should proceed in advance of any licence application.

“As sheep farmers, we will be far more directly affected than most and we have a duty and a right to express our views.”

READ MORE | Scottish Land and Estates lays out its election asks

Mr Stocker said few farmers would 'sleep easy at night' thinking their sheep might be being attacked by a lynx.

“We know the effect that domestic dogs attacking sheep has on farmer anxiety levels and the repulsion these attacks are met with by the public,” he added.

“We have to think carefully about how the destruction of a livestock farming sector would change the countryside, our rural communities and the ecology and nature that most farmers are already working hard to further improve.”

Lynx reintroduction has caused long-running debate, over uncertainty of the potential impact the predator could have on existing habitats.