For Argyll

The issue of lamb mortality in crofting areas flown by the Sea Eagles re-introduced to Scotland has been a contentious one.

Now a meeting between Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), crofters in Skye and Gairloch, the Scottish Crofting Foundation, the Scottish Government and RSPB Scotland has agreed a project to start in the Spring of 2009. This will work to establish the causes of lamb mortality.

The meeting was at SNH’s Beinn Eighe national nature reserve was presented with summaries of lamb losses for the Gairloch and Skye areas.

Willie Fraser, of the Crofting Foundation at Gairloch and Poolewe, says: ‘Four holdings on the Gairloch Peninsula have lost more than 200 lambs between May and September and they are adamant that the majority are victims of the sea eagle’.

One problem is the lack of confidence than can be placed in anecdotal evidence. In order to gather more objective evidence, what it may indicate, Willie Fraser and Donald MacDonald of the Skye Crofting Foundation will now discuss the issue with local contacts. This is designed to provide information on numbers and times of losses, predator activity and historical evidence which will be passed to SNH to coordinate.

SNH have agreed to fund the independent research study and the crofters say that they are pleased to be directly involved with this.

Head of Policy and Advice at SNH, Ron Macdonald, says: ‘The fundamental issue here is lamb losses and our aim is to refine and conclude a scientific specification shortly.  It is hoped, following that, a scientific monitoring project into sea eagle movements and predation habits could start next spring.

‘The project should include data on sheep as well as lambs and the clear feeling at the meeting was that a pilot project should concentrate on the Gairloch peninsula, plus another area from Skye.

‘What remains clear is our determination and commitment to investigate the underlying causes of high lamb mortality and I am pleased to confirm that the first meeting went well and we look forward to working even more closely with everyone in the future’.

Environment Minister, MIchael Russell says: ‘What we have here is two areas of conflicting interest. On one hand there are our crofters who have been an important part of Scotland’s rural history for centuries and to whom livestock is highly valuable.

‘One the other, is Scotland’s natural heritage, to which the sea eagle has recently been returned after a long absence as one of this country’s most beautiful birds.

‘I hope that this project will get to bottom of the issue and find a solution that can balance both interests’.

Highlands MSP, Jamie McGrigor, who was present at an earlier meeting at Poolewe where, he, says: ‘The anger caused by these losses was plain to see. I do not believe that the anecdotal evidence which was given by local people concerning lamb losses and sea eagles was in any way untrue.

‘There is a vital lesson to be learned which is that with the introduction of any predator species it should be first ascertained what nourishment is available for that species. Many years ago the hills of the northwest Highlands were populated by mountain hares which were certainly a mainstay food source for eagles and other hawks. Perhaps SNH should think of reintroducing a food source of this kind before introducing predators which are likely to prey on the livestock and therefore livelihood of crofters.

‘In Mull in Argyll a compensation has been paid to crofters and farmers for lamb losses it is accepted that the island benefits from bird watching tourists who come to see the sea eagle. The Gairloch crofters do not benefit from any compensation of this kind and with regard to bird watchers many have concerns for the impact of sea eagles on sea birds such as fulmars. I hope that the RSPB is taking seriously the reported decline of the fulmar colonies’.

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