Sea eagle carnage reaching new heights

In a statement on Wednesday, the Federation said: ”In some areas, predation by sea eagles has become the main cause of death in healthy lambs. Reportedly, sea eagles’ habitat range is increasing, with animals being seen in places where they previously have not been present, and in larger numbers where they have”.

The issue is causing concern throughout the Highlands and Islands but has surfaced particularly strongly in Uist after images showed the grim damage done to a lamb by a sea eagle. The whole policy of reintroducing white-tailed sea eagles is being widely called into question.

However, these protests coincide with a study welcomed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds along with a statement on its web-site that “lambs aren’t a major part of the breeding season diet of White-tailed Eagles, an important new study has found”.

Duncan Orr-Ewing of RSPB Scotland said: “We hope that the results of this study will provide some reassurance to farmers and crofters in connection with their concerns about livestock predation, when noting the largely natural diet of most breeding White-tailed Eagles in Scotland".

However, a director of the SCF, Padruig Morrison who crofts in North Uist, said: “Crofters are on the ground from dawn till dusk during lambing and have a real sense of lamb health, vigour, and the occasional but inevitable cases of stillbirths or hypothermia.

“So when crofters suggest eagles have killed lambs, it is being said from a place of intimate knowledge of the flock on the ground.”

The SCF statement said: “Crofters who used to lamb outdoors have had to move indoors to reduce the risk of predation, and have had to keep healthy lambs on in-bye land longer than they used to before moving them to hill grazing, adding to the pressure put on in-bye land in spring”.

Referring to an increase in the compensation fund announced recently by the Scottish Government, SCF chief executive Donna Smith said: “The increase in available support may be viewed as a concession that sea eagles are indeed killing more lambs. We would encourage everyone who has witnessed losses through predation to apply to the scheme to give further evidence to government about the real numbers affected.”

The grim image of a lamb killed by a sea eagle, posted on Facebook by crofter Donald MacPhee of Nunton, had already provoked a strong reaction in Uist. Mr MacPhee commented: “Crofting is hard enough without having to deal with this” and addressed his message to the RSPB who have promoted the reintroduction of sea eagles along with NatureScot.

John Macmillan responded: “Truly horrible. As usual, people who live in a yah bubble telling people with hundreds of years of crofting in their DNA, how to croft. Ask those who don't worship at the altar of Countryfile,the best way forward. All the money in the world does not cover a mother's pain: horrible sound”.

Donald Morrison added: “Soul destroying. Something has got to be done. These horrendous scenes are appearing all over the Highlands and Islands far too often”.

Commenting on the study published by the RSPB, Mr Orr-Ewing, who is head of species and land management at RSPB Scotland and a member of the National Sea Eagle Stakeholder Group said: "This study will be invaluable for an evidence-based approach when drawing up the next Sea Eagle Management Scheme and targeting of available resources to geographical areas where support is most needed”.