World-first as Rathlin Island is declared ferret free
World-first as Rathlin Island is declared ferret free
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World-first as Rathlin Island is declared ferret free
More than 400 traps were laid across the island in a £4.5m project which featured a specially-trained detection dog called Woody.
In a world-first, Rathlin Island, off the coast of County Antrim, has eradicated ferrets.
The non-native predator was introduced to the island in the 1980s and has wreaked havoc on the internationally-significant breeding seabird colony.
More than 400 traps were laid across the island as part of a five-year, £4.5m Life Raft project, which has also targeted rats. But crucial to the fight to save the seabirds was a specially-trained detection dog, called Woody.