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Farmers invited to take part in eagle management scheme
Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and its partners are opening the sea eagle management scheme to farmers once again this year, as the 2013 sea eagle breeding season gets underway.
Over the last two years, the management scheme has committed to 50 contracts with land managers worth £164,652 for work such as extra shepherding, fencing, sheep tick and fluke treatment, and management directly benefitting sea eagles. This included work in Skye, Wester Ross, Lochaber, Mull, Lorn, Islay, and the Outer Hebrides.
As well as supporting sea eagles and tourism, the aim of the scheme is to help farmers reduce the risk of losing livestock by keeping them healthy and safe.
This year, SNH is also keen to deal with any issues that arise which haven’t been addressed by the scheme, as sea eagles move into new territories or come into conflict with livestock. For this service, farmers and crofters should contact their local SNH office to discuss what options are available to help.
SNH’s Ross Lilley, the Sea Eagle Scheme Manager, said: “I’d encourage any farmers or other land managers with concerns about the impact of sea eagles on their livestock to look into the scheme. Sea eagles are a protected species, but we recognise their presence can occasionally lead to conflict with livestock rearing, and we want to help minimise this where possible. For any advice, staff at local SNH offices are there to help.”
NFU Scotland’s Director of Policy and Regions, Jonnie Hall, said: “The conservation success story of Scotland’s sea eagles owes a huge amount to the extensive farming and crofting systems of the West Coast that have provided the landscape, habitats and food stocks for the species to thrive. On vulnerable farms and crofts, every lamb counts and any measures available to farmers and crofters through the scheme that help mitigate any adverse impacts of sea eagles are welcome.
The management scheme also provides funding for projects which benefit sea eagles and tourism, such as improving feeding habitat nesting sites or roosts.
For more information, as well as application forms, see www.snh.gov.uk and search for ‘sea eagle management scheme.’
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Weather for Banchory
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: East
