Stoat control benefits threatened species: Our letter to The Times

Sir,

Since the reported loss of 68 per cent of hen harriers in their first year predates the arrival of stoats on Orkney in 2010 (letter, Nov 16), it is right conservationists are supporting the £6 million project to eradicate them to protect other species.

With stoat control offering such clear conservation benefits, it is bizarre the RSPB is not a little more generous in its support of grouse moors which have been doing this for years without taxpayer funding.

Admittedly, gamekeepers don’t exterminate their stoats, but our experimental studies have shown that even limited control of stoat numbers, along with other nest predators such as foxes and crows, can increase threatened species such as lapwing by 66 per cent.

Andrew Gilruth
Director of Communications, Marketing & Membership
Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust

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