Ferret-free future? Rathlin Island project nears victory over invasive predator

Representatives of a project to combat invasive species on Rathlin Island say they are “optimistic” that a species bird-killing, domestic ferret has been completely eradicated.

At this month’s full council meeting members received a deputation from Michael Rafferty, the eradication delivery manager for the Rathlin Life Raft Project; a two-part, RSPB-led project seeking to eradicate domestic ferrets and brown rats from the island.

Mr Rafferty explained:

“The objectives of the project are to protect the internationally important seabird colonies on Rathlin, contribute to the recovery of the economy following COVID -19, and share our findings with other, ongoing eradication projects.

“One of the main reasons (for the eradication) is that Rathlin is home to internationally important seabird colonies, for example it’s got the largest puffin colony in Northern Ireland.

“On top of this there are other reasons, such as damage to property and risk of disease.”

Mr Rafferty said the ferrets were possibly introduced in the 1980s to control rabbit numbers, and since then had done “tremendous damage to ground-nesting birds”.

“In just a few days one adult ferret managed to kill 27 adult birds, just by gaining access to a puffin colony,” he warned.

“We assembled a team of (40) staff and volunteers with a whole host of different skill sets, ranging from direct eradication to logistics, and brought them to Rathlin.

“To date, there has been 98 ferrets caught, and from November 2023 there have been no confirmed ferret sightings.”

“So this is a really positive sign that this has went well and we are quite optimistic that things are looking good, although it’s not confirmed that the ferret is eradicated yet.”

In conclusion, Mr Rafferty said the brown rat eradication stage was started in September last year and was “ongoing”.