British farmers have been asked to be on watch for big cats that have been seen roaming the countryside killing sheep and thrilling the public.

The National Farmers' Union appealed for its members to be the "eyes and ears" of the countryside to help sort myth from reality in a country that revels in big beasts from the Loch Ness Monster to the cat-like killer of Bodmin Moor.

"There is anecdotal evidence among farmers and society at large that there are big cats roaming wild in our countryside," NFU deputy president Tim Bennett said.

Robin Goodbeer of the British Big Cats Society, founded three years ago to log sightings, said the number of big cat animal kills and sightings was growing steadily.

"They are of pumas, leopards and jaguars," he told Reuters, adding that there had been over 1,000 sightings in 2002 and@this year.

"There are even reports of young animals, suggesting they are breeding. There have been no attacks on humans reported here, but they are getting closer to the edges of towns and cities," he added.

The big cats are widely believed to have either escaped from private zoos in the past or been released by people who could no longer manage them as pets.

Two years ago, a wild Eurasian lynx was found wandering around the London suburb of Cricklewood. It was captured and now lives in London Zoo where it goes by the name Lara.

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