I received a text message from my neighbour, a sheep farmer, while writing this article. The resulting call changed my topic from being about the cool summer and late harvest into something really different. It appeared that wolves had killed 12 of his ewes the previous night. Everything had happened just 30 yards from the nearest house. Two weeks earlier, wolves had killed six ewes from the same flock.

August was a predator-rich month in our village. In the first week, something killed a lamb on one of my landscape management paddocks.

Two days later, there were three more ewe carcases lying on the field. A further search revealed approximately 10 more.

At this point, the local large carnivore expert was called in and, after few hours’ work, he concluded that there had been a lynx, probably two. Bite marks, claw marks, pugmarks and the way sheep were killed and eaten – everything was supporting his conclusions.

The local director of agriculture was also called in, as he has to inspect all livestock damage caused by large carnivores in our district.

The lynx case was his first incidence this summer, but there was more to come. A couple of days later, a dozen ewes were killed by a wolf just 30 miles further, then a heifer, then some more sheep.

Back in my landscape management paddock, everything went smoothly for some time after the first attack, probably thanks to a battery radio that was playing music 24/7.

However, the luck wasn’t permanent. Soon there were some more ewes missing. In two weeks, lynx killed 23 ewes and lambs from a flock of 55 in that individual paddock of 10ha.

There are 2,500 lynx in Finland, but not too many sheep, with the total count being roughly 150,000 head.

Sheep can cope well in the Finnish climate and landscape. Uninsulated barns are adequate even during the harshest of winter months. Sheep also do valuable work in the Finnish countryside, as they aid in keeping the landscape open. Quite often, sheep are grazing meadows and marshlands that couldn’t be mowed with heavy machinery.

Mutton is also imported to Finland in large quantities. Domestic production covers less than half of the annual consumption and sheep numbers could be increased substantially.

However, it seems that the future isn’t too promising for Finnish sheep farmers. Large carnivore attacks are increasing and it is almost impossible to prevent them.

Public reaction towards farmers is not very supportive. Quite often you hear suggestions that sheep should be taken indoors overnight or otherwise protected. Livestock guard dogs and more powerful electric fences are also recommended.

Expensive

However, these suggestions would be very difficult and expensive as, in most cases, both flocks and paddocks are relatively small.

Farmers are facing economic realities. It would be easier and cheaper to just quit farming than build extra high electric fences or maintain a handful of livestock guard dogs.

If lynx are reintroduced to the UK in the future, as proposed, it will mean hard, laborious and expensive times for sheep farmers. According to Lynx UK, at first there would be just six lynx individuals introduced. However, how many would there be in 10 or 20 years?

I also went through some “scientific facts” provided by Lynx UK. I wonder where they find their facts.

For example, in Norway, a population of 300 to 400 lynx is killing 10,000 sheep every year. That is entirely in contrary with numbers provided by Lynx UK.

I am also a bit sceptical about the claims of ecotourism. With 2,500 lynx here, we should already have our share of that in Finland.