George Monbiot suggests the "rewilding" of our National Parks. Pumas, lynxes, wolves and even bears to be reintroduced to the English countryside?

As recently suggested by editorial comments in both the Western Morning News and Western Daily Press, George Monbiot's idea of "rewilding" and reforesting our National Parks is not without merit.  I certainly would not be opposed to re-establishing forests. They have been, and still are, part of the traditional English landscape.

However, Mr Monbiot's idea of reintroducing lynxes, wolves and possibly bears does seem a little impractical now that England is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and the population of Britain as a whole is now heading for 74 million.  When the British lynx died out in around 700AD the population of Anglo Saxon England was about 2 million.  Bears survived until the10th century when the population of England was still about 2 million.   At around the start of the 16th century, the wolf became extinct in England when the population was 3 million having reached 5 or 6 million at the end of the 13th century only to be devastated by the Black Death.

If the bear, wolf and lynx could not co-exist alongside the very much smaller populations of past centuries then it is difficult to see how they could do so now.

This letter in the Western Morning News on the 29th of October reflects my view.

No room for lynx in overcrowded island.

David Cameron recently announced he is launching a “crusade” for a million new homes by 2020. Lord Adonis, the new National Infrastructures Commission chairman, says that 40 towns and cities in southern England must double in size even if it means building on the Green Belt. Eighty-four bishops from the Church of England have called for the Government to take in 50,000 refugees from war ravaged Syria – they will all need housing. Clearly the urbanisation of the English landscape will proceed apace as a necessary consequence of such campaigning. Now I read that the veteran environmentalist George Monbiot wants to reintroduce lynxes to our National Parks, (WMN, October 18). If Mr Monbiot’s “shy and secretive” creatures need a tranquil and spacious countryside in which to make their home I doubt they will find anywhere to their liking on this increasingly overcrowded island of ours.

S.W.

Ilminster