{"id":843952,"date":"2026-03-23T01:59:22","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/843952\/"},"modified":"2026-03-23T01:59:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-23T01:59:22","slug":"invasive-species-removed-from-rathlin-island-to-protect-northern-irelands-largest-seabird-colony-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/843952\/","title":{"rendered":"Invasive species removed from Rathlin Island to protect Northern Ireland\u2019s largest seabird colony \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

An invasive predator has been eradicated from Rathlin Island in a conservation project, helping to secure the future of Northern Ireland\u2019s largest seabird colony.<\/p>\n

The \u00a34.5 million LIFE Raft (Rathlin Acting for Tomorrow) initiative has removed feral ferrets from the island. It marks the first time the species has been eradicated from an inhabited island anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n

The project, launched in 2021 and led by RSPB Northern Ireland in partnership with local and government organisations, aims to protect the seabirds which return to Rathlin each year to breed.<\/p>\n

\"StandardA landmark conservation project has seen Rathlin Island declared \u2018ferret-free\u2019. PICUTRE COUPERFIELD\/GETTY IMAGES <\/p>\n

Speaking to The Irish News, RSPB NI area manager Claire Barnett said the milestone marked an \u201cextraordinary moment\u201d for both conservation and the island community.<\/p>\n

\"Amy<\/a>\"‘Everything<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cRathlin Island is a really important island for our seabird colony,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got over 250,000 seabirds nesting here, which is remarkable, but they\u2019re in big trouble.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeabirds are declining quite significantly across the UK and Europe, so we have to do everything we can to try and help them survive.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd one thing we can do is remove their growing predators.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>Three pieces of Rathlin Island to go under the hammer at rare auction<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Rathlin'sRathlin’s Kittiwakes. <\/p>\n

Feral ferrets, which were introduced to the island in the 1980s in an attempt to control rabbit populations, became a significant threat to nesting birds, preying on eggs, chicks and adult seabirds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese ferrets were released and then, as ferrets do, they bred and multiplied and could be found anywhere on the island,\u201d Ms Barnett said.<\/p>\n

The scale of the challenge was considerable, with teams required to remove \u201cevery single one\u201d from the secluded island.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s never been done anywhere before,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was a big, big task, but one we\u2019ve managed to achieve with the support of our partners and the islanders.\u201d<\/p>\n

LIFE Raft programme manager Erin McKeown said the project was driven by the sharp decline in seabird populations and the need to reduce pressure from invasive species.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>Detection dog joins seabird rescue mission on Rathlin Island<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"RazorbillRazorbill chicks on Rathlin Island. <\/p>\n

\u201cSeabirds are the fastest declining group of birds globally, and we\u2019ve seen that first hand here on Rathlin,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had a decline of over 70 per cent in puffins over the last 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that the impact of predators was devastating, with one ferret having killed 27 adult birds over the course of two days.”<\/p>\n

Explaining how the removal was carried out, Ms McKeown said the operation required a combination of specialist techniques and sustained monitoring.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had specially trained staff working on trapping, alongside a network of more than 100 cameras across the island to detect any presence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also used thermal drones and had Woody, our detection dog, trained to identify ferret scent, so it really was a combination of a lot of different tools to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WoodyRed labradour Woody Rathlin’s dectection dog. <\/p>\n

Beyond its environmental significance, the project is also expected to deliver long-term benefits for the island\u2019s community and economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know from speaking to people here that they\u2019re hoping to see real change,\u201d Ms McKeown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s everything from eco-tourism, with more seabirds returning, to simple day-to-day things like being able to keep chickens again without the risk of predation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rathlin resident and wildlife photographer Tom McDonnell said the removal of ferrets had already been welcomed locally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a massive threat, to be honest with you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was destroying the populations of seabirds, but also affecting hares and ground-nesting birds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I heard about the project, it was almost relief, because I knew it would have a positive impact on the wildlife.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that community support had been crucial to its success.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were a lot of meetings to get people on board, especially landowners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut everybody came together. It\u2019s been a massive undertaking, but it\u2019s been worth it. It\u2019s already having a positive impact on the people here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/b>Puffins return to Rathlin Island in punctual fashion<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

\"RathlinRathlin is famous for its Puffin population. <\/p>\n

With the island now declared ferret-free, project leaders said the focus will shift to maintaining strict biosecurity measures to prevent reintroduction.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is really the first step,\u201d Ms McKeown said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve also just finished a brown rat operation as well, so we will continue to monitor for any presence of brown rats on the island for another year but hopefully we\u2019re working our way towards that rat-free status as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u00a34.5m LIFE Raft project is funded by EU LIFE, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation and DAERA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An invasive predator has been eradicated from Rathlin Island in a conservation project, helping to secure the future…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":843953,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5011],"tags":[3928,1144,67196,60828,24380,16,15],"class_list":["post-843952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-northern-ireland","tag-conservation","tag-northern-ireland","tag-puffin","tag-rathlin-island","tag-spring","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116276020564606957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=843952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/843952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/843953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=843952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=843952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=843952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}