Eagles ‘are preying on our sheep’s minds’

SEA eagles are harming Scotland’s sheep farming industry by preying on lambs and leaving ewes traumatised, it has been claimed.

The birds of prey were reintroduced into Scotland in the mid-1970s, and settled on Mull in the 1980s. In 2017 there were 130 breeding pairs recorded.

But farmers are calling for more to be done to protect their livelihoods after losing lambs to the birds.

Farmer Billy Macrae, from Edinbane on the Isle of Skye, said: ‘We were finding that our Cheviots were too easy a target for the sea eagle. We would bring them in to feed at the trough and effectively were creating a breakfast bar for the eagles.

‘The problem is that they have introduced birds at the top of the food chain without any natural predators, so there is nothing to stop their numbers increasing.

‘The problem is that there isn’t enough natural prey here for the sea eagles to hunt, so they are turning to our sheep, which are easy targets on the open hill landscape.’

Sheep farmer John Gillies, who works on the Isle of Raasay, off Skye, said he used to sell 600 lambs a year but this has halved since the arrival of the sea eagles.

He said: ‘The impact these huge birds can have is devastating and it’s not just the animals that they attack but the stress they cause to the people looking after them.

‘It’s horrific when you come across the mess these eagles leave behind. These birds should never have been reintroduced.’

A spokesman for Scottish Natural Heritage said: ‘The reintroduction of these native birds to Scotland has been very successful and benefited tourism. However, in some locations, sea eagles may impact farming and crofting by predating lambs.

‘We are working closely with farmers, crofters and other partners to trial management techniques which can help reduce these negative impacts.’