Rousay wildlife now safer as threat removed

Wildlife on the island of Rousay in Orkney is now safer after a Stoat was removed following months of collective effort.

Stoats are native to mainland Britain but not to Orkney where they pose a serious threat to native wildlife, including Curlews, Arctic Terns, Red-throated Divers, Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls, and Orkney Voles.

Stoats were first reported in Orkney in 2010, and they quickly established across five of Orkney’s 70 islands (Orkney Mainland and the four islands that are linked by the Churchill Barriers).

Since 2019, the Orkney Native Wildlife Project has been working to remove every last Stoat from Orkney and to stop them spreading to more islands.

As part of these efforts, there are biosecurity measures including traps and monitoring devices in place on all high-risk islands, along with a public awareness campaign to encourage people to report any potential sightings.

In April, tourists visiting Rousay reported that they may have seen a Stoat. The project team launched an incursion response immediately deploying additional traps and cameras and conducting searches with the project’s Stoat detection dogs.

Then in early May, the presence of a Stoat was confirmed by an image from one of the cameras. Since then, the project has been working tirelessly, alongside fantastic volunteers from the Rousay community, to find and catch this Stoat.

And, on 9 October, after months of collective effort, it was caught in one of the lethal humane traps.

This is great news for Rousay’s precious native wildlife and for the community who care so deeply about nature on their island.

Around half of Rousay is protected for nature, reflecting the island’s exceptional natural heritage. It’s home to Curlews, Red-throated Divers, Hen Harriers, Short-eared Owls and many seabirds. It’s also one of the few islands in Orkney that supports Orkney Voles – a subspecies found nowhere else on earth.

Stoats are prolific hunters and fast breeders and pose a significant threat to ground-nesting birds like waders, birds of prey, and the Orkney Vole. As non-native species to Orkney, they have no natural predators to keep their populations in check.

With so much at stake, it’s a big relief to have successfully removed this Stoat before it could do much harm.

At approximately 4,500 hectares (equivalent to more than 6000 rugby pitches), Rousay is the fifth largest island in Orkney.  

Ian Barker, an island local and biosecurity volunteer, said: 

“If you’ve ever been to Rousay, you’ll know that finding this Stoat raised a lot of challenges.

“We were looking for just one stealthy, fast-moving animal across 4,500 Ha of island – most of which is heather moorland, which is difficult to cross on foot and very easy for Stoats to hide in.

"It has been great to see professionals and volunteers coming together and achieving this common goal.

“I’m really happy that we succeeded in catching this Stoat, and that we’ve managed to protect our native wildlife.”

The successful removal of the Stoat would have been so much harder without the outstanding support of local volunteers, landowners, other residents and visitors who reported potential Stoat sightings and signs.

Alice Head-Rapson, an ONWP trapper who set the trap box that caught the Stoat, said:

“This incursion response was a test of our skills, but everybody at the project stepped up to meet the moment.

“My teammate, Benjy, and I spent the summer and autumn monitoring as much of Rousay as we can and expanding our trap networks, with a focus on sighting hotspots like the Loch of Loomachun.

“Our work has certainly paid off! It’s still important we guarantee with complete confidence that the Stoat we’ve trapped was the only one, but our achievement here is a big deal and we hope that will help to keep nature safe across all of Orkney.

Special thanks must go to the fantastic Rousay volunteers, landowners and everyone that reported sightings as well as funders, donors, partners and RSPB members and supporters.

The project is a partnership between RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council. It is supported by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, EU Life and the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, managed by NatureScot, which also specifically supported the incursion response on Rousay.