Blog from John Kelly, LIFE Raft Senior Programme Manager

I am pleased to report that next week we will reach another major milestone in our drive to save Rathlin’s nationally important seabirds and open up new opportunities for the Rathlin community.

The ferret traps are being activated.

There are some final checks we need to carry out, and we will not activate the traps until we are positive we are ready. But everything is looking good and we are feeling confident that, this time next week, traps will be activated on the island.

What does this actually mean?
It means that, from next week, the traps will contain or humanely kill ferrets that enter them. Up until this point the traps were pre-baited, meaning that ferrets could wander in and out. Now, hopefully, the ferrets will be comfortable around the traps which gives us the best chance of catching them.

Next week our team will walk from one side of the island to the other, meticulously opening all trap stations as they go. There are over 450 traps so this will be another period of seriously hard work from our entire team on the ground and back in the office.

We think this will take about five days, but of course weather and other factors can slow or speed up our progress.

Through a bespoke Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) network, our team will be alerted and know that they have to check that trap within 24 hours. Every single ‘live’ trap (designed to capture the ferrets, not kill them) has a sensor that goes off when the trap is triggered. Most of the kill traps have these as well.

 

 

What does this mean for people living on island?
We have designed this project to protect and restore Rathlin’s precious environment. We have also designed it so that no one is hurt or injured along the way. Our traps are usually hard to spot but if you see one, please don’t interfere with the traps for your own safety. Each trap is labelled with relevant health and safety warnings, and you will also find two phone numbers tagged on every trap.

If you see something we should know about (a damaged trap, for example) please phone one of the two numbers on the trap

Of course, there is no such thing as “zero risk” in all projects like this. If you have a small pet dog or cat, we recommend keeping them away from traps in the landscape. The Rathlin code encourages dog owners to keep their dogs on a lead anyway to protect livestock, avoid scaring people, and protect Rathlin’s precious landscape – and with the traps now live, keeping your dog on a lead will ensure they cannot access a trap or damage it.

 

What can we expect next?
If our strategy of pre-baiting the traps is successful, we should expect to see a rapid pulse of ferret captures followed by tapering off of the number of animals caught. We can’t accurately predict how fast this will be but our best guess is that most animals will be captured within a few weeks.

In the meantime, please let us know if you see any ferrets or come across any damaged traps. We’ll keep this blog and our Facebook page updated, so please check back in to see how the project is progressing!

I would also like to say how proud I am of the team and the huge dedication they’ve shown for Rathlin’s people and wildlife. They’ve been out in all weathers, clambered around cliffs, spent weeks in a cold shed, filled out god knows how many contracts and risk assessments, and put tremendous effort into working with the community. None of this would be possible without the RDCA and our hard-working office-based team and colleagues. Every person has been indispensable and I can’t thank you enough for all your hard work.

Featured image: Ulf Keller checking the traps

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.

This project is funded by EU LIFE [LIFE20 NAT/UK/000349]; National Lottery Heritage Fund; and DAERA.