Seabirds on Northern Ireland’s Rathlin Island, including Puffins, Guillemots and Razorbills, are one step closer to a more secure future thanks to LIFE Raft and the island community.
Rathlin Island is home to Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony. It has the largest population of breeding Guillemots in the whole of the UK and Ireland, and the second greatest number of Razorbills in the UK. Other seabirds, including Puffins, Fulmars and Shags, also breed there. But non-native invasive Ferrets and Brown Rats are driving declines in many seabirds, as well as in other small mammals, invertebrates and plants. Puffin numbers, for example, have dropped by 74% since 1999.
LIFE Raft is a multi-million pound conservation project, led by the Rathlin Development & Community Association and RSPB NI, that aims to eradicate Ferrets and Rats from the island and decrease the likelihood of their return.
This attempt to eradicate Feral Ferrets is a world first. It will also be one of the largest islands in the world to be cleared of Rats without the use of helicopters and one of the most populated islands to be restored. The project is deeply rooted within the local community: it is creating new jobs, livestock on the island will also benefit from the removal of non-native species and community engagement is a key element of the project.
Since October 2023, over 600 Ferret traps have been activated. The team now estimates that there are only a few Ferrets left. Intensive monitoring is now underway: detection dogs, trail cameras, even drones are part of the search effort.
The team are also starting to focus on Rats. This means making thousands of bait stations, removing tonnes of Rat harbourage, and recruiting over 20 staff and residential volunteers. The project is set to run until 2027, by which time it is hoped that all Ferrets and Rats will have been removed.
LIFE Raft is funded by EU Life, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Rathlin Development and Community Association, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the RSPB and generous individual donors.
LIFE Raft is a partnership between RSPB NI; Rathlin Development and Community Association; Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council; National Parks and Wildlife Service; Causeway Coast and Glens Heritage Trust; and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.
Head to Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland with RSPB Warden Liam McFaul. In this stunning film, see Puffin, meet the island’s famous Golden Hares and discover one of the biggest Razorbill colonies in Europe.
