Scottish Borders’ concerns over the reintroduction of lynx will be listened to.
Roseanna Cunningham MSP, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform in a letter to Rachael Hamilton, MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire confirmed views will be heard before the reintroduction.
The Scottish Government will submit views on the Lynx UK Trust application to release lynx on the English side of the border at Kielder Forest, as agreed with Natural England.
The potential impact on livestock will be a key consideration.
The letter comes after a lynx escaped from Borth Zoo, Aberystwyth in Wales, that killed 7 sheep.
This year Lothians and Borders saw the second highest number of livestock worrying incidents regionally, with 27 cases recorded by Police Scotland.
Rachael Hamilton MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire said: "I am pleased that concerns will be listened to by Natural England before any lynx are reintroduced into the wild.
"The potential danger to livestock must be a key consideration. The damage a lynx can cause can be lethal – as shown by the horrific incidents in Wales.
"I do have reservations about the reintroduction and the impact it will have on our agricultural livestock in a time when sheep worrying is also on the rise."