Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, U.K.
A world-first project protecting Northern Ireland's largest seabird colony from invasive non-native rats and ferrets.
THE PROJECT: LIFE Raft is a five-year project comprising international eradication experts, a strong community engagement and socioeconomic arm, a dedicated fieldwork team, and climbers to install pathways across the cliffs. The active eradication project will run until spring 2025, with ongoing monitoring and biosecurity continuing through 2027.
LOCATION: Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland, U.K.
THE WORK: The LIFE Raft project, led by the RSPB in partnership with the Rathlin Community, aims to protect Northern Ireland’s most important seabird colony on Rathlin Island from invasive non-native species.
SPECIES: Guillemots, Atlantic Puffins
COMMUNITY: Protecting Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony from invasives.
TIMELINE: Holistic restoration by 2027
About LIFE Raft
The LIFE Raft project, led by the RSPB in partnership with the Rathlin Community, aims to protect Northern Ireland’s most important seabird colony on Rathlin Island from invasive non-native species. Brown rats and ferrets have predated on seabirds for decades, causing them to retreat further down the cliffs to find somewhere safe to nest. Internationally significant numbers of Guillemots, as are hundreds of Atlantic Puffins and other seabirds, are in danger. In 2023, only a third of Rathlin’s Atlantic Puffin chicks survived long enough to leave the nest.
Rats and ferrets also cause problems for the 160 people living on Rathlin. Ferrets make it almost impossible to keep poultry, while rats nibble through wires, are a pest to farmers, and are a potential disease spreader.
In October 2023, after years of planning, the operational phase began with the opening of over 500 traps. As of spring 2024, the project is cautiously optimistic that there are a very small number left. Intensive monitoring is underway, using everything from detection dogs to trail cameras and even thermal drones.
In autumn 2024 the project will begin the rat eradication phase. It won’t be possible to determine whether the rat phase has been successful until the end of 2026 at the earliest, but it is possible that in just a few short years Rathlin Island will be a haven for seabirds. If successful, this will be the first-ever feral ferret eradication in the world. For updates, please visit Rathlin360.com.
Voices from the community
“The success of this project will mean that the wildlife of Rathlin, the sights and sounds that we grew up with, can continue. The seabirds and ground-nesting birds are a big part of our natural heritage and a major draw to the island for tourists during the spring and summer months. By protecting them, we are making sure that our island community plays a part in protecting this shared heritage for future generations.”
— Michael Cecil, Chair of the Rathlin Development Community Association
Project Partners & Funders
• EU LIFE
• National Lottery Heritage Fund
• The Department of Agriculture
• Environment and Rural Affairs; Garfield Weston Foundation
• The Rathlin Development Community Association (RDCA) and RSPB. It is a partner project led by the RSPB with the RDCA and the Rathlin community at its center.
PREV/NEXT
