Rathlin Island’s internationally important seabirds are under threat from non-native predators. Help us to give them a fighting chance.
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Six miles off the coast of County Antrim, Rathlin Island is designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). It’s home to Northern Ireland’s biggest seabird colony, including internationally important populations of threatened species like Puffins, Razorbills and Manx Shearwaters, and the UK and Ireland’s largest Guillemot colony.
Inland, Rathlin is a haven for all kinds of other incredible wildlife. This includes a unique population of “golden” Irish Hares and the vanishingly rare Corncrake, a species brought back from the brink of extinction in Northern Ireland thanks to conservation efforts on Rathlin.
Sadly, Rathlin’s vulnerable wildlife has been under severe pressure from non-native predatory Brown Rats and ferrets. It’s thought that the rats arrived on boats in the 1800s, while the ferrets were introduced in the 1980s to control pests including the rats.
Since then, these voracious predators have preyed on the island’s precious native species, indiscriminately consuming eggs, chicks and adult birds. A lack of experience with the invasive predators makes Rathlin's seabirds particularly easy prey. Over time, this has forced them to nest further down the cliffs, reducing safe breeding spots.
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Combined with the impacts of climate change (extreme weather, reduction in food) and avian flu, the presence of these predators has caused Rathlin’s bird populations to plummet. Since 1999, numbers of Puffins, alone, have fallen by 74%. Suffice to say, Rathlin’s wildlife has been pushed to the edge and desperately needs our help.
To save Rathlin Island’s wildlife, urgent action to remove the non-native predators was needed, and in 2021, the LIFE Raft (Rathlin Acting for Tomorrow) project was born. Led by RSPB Northern Ireland and Rathlin Development and Community Association (RDCA), the project established four clear goals:
Increase the populations of Puffins & Guillemots and Corncrakes, as well as other terrestrial birds, small mammals, invertebrates and plants.
Improve the status of other seabirds including Fulmars, Shags, Eider Ducks and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Support the recolonisation of seabirds that have been driven to extinction on Rathlin, such as Manx Shearwaters and Black-headed Gulls.
Increase our understanding of the impacts of invasive non-native predators on fragile island ecosystems and share our findings with the worldwide eradication community.
Work began to eradicate Rathlin’s invasive, non-native ferret population in September 2023. Now, three years on, the island has been declared ferret free. It’s the first time anywhere in the world that a ferret population has been successfully eradicated from an inhabited island.
Such a groundbreaking achievement wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication of RSPB volunteers, staff, partners, and the unwavering support of the Rathlin Island community.
Meanwhile, work to remove the island’s invasive Brown Rats continues and signs are positive. However, the goal of eradicating both species is yet to be achieved, and following their removal, the fight will continue, as it’s critically important that we prevent the invasive predators from returning.
Only this will ensure that Rathlin's seabirds have a fighting chance of recovery.
The LIFE Raft project is a huge undertaking, and we were able to raise much of the £4.5 million required to fund it. However, as the last, critical stages of the project approach, we need to make up a £363,000 shortfall to complete the eradication of ferrets and Brown Rats and successfully safeguard Rathlin’s vulnerable species.
With your support, we can continue to fund the use of specially trained dogs like Woody, and cutting-edge technology, such as a thermal drone, to detect any remaining Brown Rats on Rathlin. We can continue to pay for the baited traps and equipment our volunteers and eradication specialists need to remove them.
So much has already been achieved on Rathlin, and it’s thanks to the support of people like you that the island is so close to becoming a haven for wildlife again. Please donate and help us to safeguard Rathlin’s threatened species for good.
Your generosity will support our conservation work where nature needs it most. Every gift helps us fund groundbreaking conservation and respond to urgent challenges like those faced by Rathlin’s native wildlife. Thank you.
Your generosity will support our island restoration work. Every gift helps us protect seabirds and other vulnerable island wildlife at places like Rathlin.