Madam,

May I take this opportunity to commend Cllr Ceredig Davies in the request he has made to the leader of Ceredigion County Council for a full and through review of the circumstances leading up to the destruction of the lynx in Borth.

Whilst extremely disappointed that the lynx was shot, I am aware, having been a police firearms officer, that there are those rare occasions where, unfortunately, public safety overtakes the needs of an animal.

That said, at this stage, and due to lack of accurate information, I am unsure that the action taken in this case was appropriate.

There is a great deal of interest in this case locally, nationally and internationally. It would be an understatement to say the eyes of the world are on Ceredigion.

There also appears to be significant blaming going on, with some blaming the zoo in Borth, some blaming Dyfed-Powys Police, some blaming the experts who advised, and Ceredigion County Council, as well as others. This blame culture will not assist in identifying the causes that led up to and the decision process that authorised the shooting of this apparently beautiful creature. Everyone needs to learn from their mistakes to ensure that nothing like this happens again if it can be prevented.

To date I am only aware of Cllr Davies having called for a full review. All the councillors should be calling for a full, open, honest and transparent review of what has gone on over the past few weeks.

It will not be good enough to fudge a report solely apportioning blame on the zoo. Public confidence will not be restored without carrying out a thorough review of all actions taken by everyone involved and making this available to the public.

Failure to get this right will have a dramatic impact on how the county of Ceredigion is seen in the eyes of the rest of the world. Already people are suggesting on social media that the county should be boycotted as a holiday destination.

The subsequent news of a second lynx unfortunately dying at the zoo last week will not help.

However, this also needs to be considered as part of the review. My fear is that a significant number of our councillors think that the public criticism of them will all fizzle out and go away.

I would recommend that they review what is being said on social media.

The county will not get away with brushing this one under the carpet.

Yours etc,

Hugh Hughes, Borth.

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