Return of the eagle could boost tourism in Snowdonia

GOLDEN and white-tailed eagles could return to Wales for the first time since the 1850s if a conservation project in Snowdonia is a success.

Eagles were once common in Wales – the Welsh name for Snowdonia is Eryri, meaning eagle nest – but the birds were killed off by sheep farmers and gamekeepers protecting their stocks.

Now researchers at Cardiff University believe reintroducing the raptors could help ensure the future survival of the species and boost tourism.

The programme to bring back whitetailed

‘There will be a strictly regulated licensing and consultation process before eagles are reintroduced’

eagles on the west coast of Scotland attracts an extra 1.4 million visitors to the region every year. It generates up to £5million in tourist spend on the Isle of Mull and supports 110 jobs.

Sophie-lee Williams from Cardiff University, a biologist with the Eagle Reintroduction Wales Project, said: “If our landscape research is positive, there will be a significant and strictly regulated licensing and consultation process before eagles are reintroduced, which would enable residents to have their concerns heard and addressed.”

Ecological feasibility studies are under way to assess habitat suitability, prey density as well as human disturbance and predicted breeding sites.