Wildlife advice

Grey seal - Rob Jordan/2020VISION

Grey seal. Image by: Rob Jordan/2020VISION.

WILDLIFE

Wildlife advice

Conserving wildlife is at the heart of what we do. Use this page to find out about wildlife and the law, reporting a wildlife crime, planning applications, our position on current conservation issues and more.

Current conservation issues

Here you can find the Trust's views on current conservation issues.

Lynx reintroduction

Updated 31 May 2023

The Trust strongly supports nature recovery including large scale wildlife focused projects.  We would support the reintroduction of species that are appropriate to natural processes and fulfil an important role in our local envoronment. The Trust was heavily involved in the reintroduction of water voles at Kielder, a process that only started after several years of local consultation.    

Any introduction of a species that has been lost from our region needs to be properly planned, backed by science and have the support of local communities.  

The lynx is a species that has been absent from the county for centuries. The Trust believes it could have a role to play in our nature recovery but it has to be accepted that reintroduction of predators needs particular care in involving and informing local people.   

We believe that before any lynx introduction can take place much more work is required to build trust with local communities to further understand the local concerns. It will be necessary to work closely to address these concerns to build a project that is acceptable to the majority of those who may be affected. This is best achieved through a collaborative approach in project design.   

We have attended Lynx UK Trust consultation events but have not been invited to contribute in more detail for the second application. We remain concerned about the apparent lack of acceptance to local land managers around the project area and the consequently high potential risk of reintroduction failure. We do not feel that the Lynx UK Trust has yet demonstrated a level of community support and trust-building appropriate for a project of this significance and we hence cannot currently support this project. 

Badgers and bovine tuberculosis (bTB)

We are very conscious of the hardship that bovine TB (bTB) causes in the farming community and the need to find the right mechanisms to control the disease. However, we believe that a badger cull is not the answer. The scientific evidence demonstrates that culling is likely to be ineffective in fighting the disease and, worse still, risks making the problem even worse. We believe the emphasis of all our efforts should be to find a long-term solution and we are calling for the Government to end its policy of culling badgers.

  • This is a cattle problem, not a badger problem.
    The control of Bovine TB in cattle should be the main focus of everyone’s efforts to control this problem. The evidence shows that badgers are not the primary cause of the spread of TB in cattle: the primary route of infection is via cow-to-cow contact.
  • A vaccine for cattle should be a priority.
    The Government has failed to develop one for TB. UK Cattle are already vaccinated for up to 16 diseases so why should TB be different?
  • The cull is scientifically unsound.
    The results of the previous badger culls indicate that this policy is flawed and unsupported by the evidence. In 2014 scientist and badger expert Rosie Woodroffe deemed the cull ‘scientifically rubbish’ in response to changing Government targets. Culling has been shown to be more expensive, less effective than other Bovine TB (bTB) control mechanisms and the free-shooting of badgers has been shown to be an inhumane method of killing.

No-Fence grazing

Please click the link below to read the Trust's statement on No-Fence Grazing 

Other useful links

Biodiversity and conservation

BTCV (international conservation volunteering) www.btcv.org.uk
Conservation Evidence www.conservationevidence.com
Country Land and Business Association www.cla.org.uk
Environment Agency www.environment-agency.gov.uk
Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group www.fwag.org.uk
Flexigraze (conservation grazing) www.flexigraze.org.uk
iSpot! (reporting sightings) www.ispot.org.uk
Natural England www.naturalengland.org.uk
Natural History Society of Northumbria www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk
North East Biodiversity Forum www.nebiodiversity.org.uk
North Pennines AONB www.northpennines.org.uk
Northumberland Coast AONB www.northumberlandcoastaonb.org
Northumberland National Park www.northumberlandnationalpark.org.uk
Northumberland Strategic Partnership www.nsp.org.uk
Red Squirrels Northern England www.rsne.org.uk
The Ambler - Amble's Community Newspaper www.facebook.com/TheAmbler
Tweed Forum www.tweedforum.org
Tyne Rivers Trust www.tyneriverstrust.org

Birds

Barn Owl Trust www.barnowltrust.org.uk
British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) www.bto.org
Northumberland & Tyneside Bird Club www.ntbc.org.uk
Peckish Junior Bird Club www.peckishbirdfood.com/juniorbirdclub
RSPB www.rspb.org.uk

Mammals

Badger Group www.northumberlandbadgergroup.org.uk
Bat Conservation Trust www.bats.org.uk
British Hedgehog Preservation Society www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
Northumberland Bat Group www.northumberlandbats.org.uk
Vincent Trust www.vwt.org.uk

Insects, reptiles and amphibians

Bumblebee Conservation www.bumblebeeconservation.org
Butterfly Conservation Trust www.butterfly-conservation.org
North East Reptile & Amphibian Group groups.arguk.org/nerag

Woodland

Forestry Commission www.forestry.gov.uk
Woodland Trust www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
Woodland Trust’s Ancient Tree Forum www.ancienttreeforum.co.uk

Flora

Royal Horticultural Society www.rhs.org.uk
Plantlife Road Verges Campaign plantlife.love-wildflowers.org.uk/roadvergecampaign

Gardens

Vine House Farm www.vinehousefarm.co.uk
Wild About Gardens
(a collaboration between the RHS
& The Wildlife Trusts)
www.wildaboutgardens.org

Wildlife rescue

Please note we do not rescue wild animals and recommend that you contact one of the following organisations:

Blyth Wildlife Rescue www.blythwildliferescue.co.uk
RSPCA www.rspca.org.uk
Northumbrian Hedgehog Rescue www.hedgehogs-northumbria.org.uk

Education

David Bellamy Conservation Awards Scheme www.bellamyparks.co.uk
Dove Marine Laboratories www.ncl.ac.uk/marine/facilities/dove
Field Studies Council field-studies-council.org
Forest Schools www.forestschools.com
Newcastle University www.ncl.ac.uk
Northumbria University www.northumbria.ac.uk
Open Air Laboratories network (OPAL) www.opalexplorenature.org
Wildlife Watch (the junior branch of TWT) www.wildlifewatch.org.uk

Green organisations

1010 Campaign www.1010uk.org
Ban Waste www.banwaste.org.uk
Bikes for Work Cycle Scheme www.cyclescheme.co.uk
Carbon Trust www.carbontrust.co.uk
Energy Saving Trust www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
Ethical Superstore  www.ethicalsuperstore.com
Fair Trade www.fairtrade.org.uk
Forest Stewardship Council www.fsc.org
Freecycle www.freecycle.org
Freegle Recycling www.ilovefreegle.org
Northumbrian Water www.nwl.co.uk/usingwaterwisely.aspx
Traidcraft www.traidcraft.co.uk
UN Global Compact www.unglobalcompact.org

Tourism partners/attractions

Alnwick Castle & Gardens www.alnwickcastle.com
Day Out with the Kids www.dayoutwiththekids.co.uk
Farne Islands www.farne-islands.com
Ford and Etal Estates www.ford-and-etal.co.uk
Hancock Great North Museum www.twmuseums.org.uk/greatnorthmuseum
Kielder Water & Forest Park www.visitkielder.com
National Trust www.nationaltrust.org.uk
Northern Experience Wildlife Tours www.northernexperiencewildlifetours.co.uk
Tide tables for Lindisfarne www.lindisfarne.org.uk/0/tide.htm
This is Northumberland www.thisisnorthumberland.com
Tyne & Wear Museums www.twmuseums.org.uk
Visit NewcastleGateshead www.newcastlegateshead.com
Visit Northumbria www.visitnorthumberland.com
Walk4life www.walk4life.info
Woodhorn Colliery Museum www.experiencewoodhorn.com