RSPB in new fundraising bid to exterminate non-native stoats from Orkney Isles

Sarah Sankey: "We can't stop now."

THE RSPB has this week launched its latest initiative to wipe out Orkney's population of non-native stoats.

Not only is it asking members to dig in their pocket to raise £57,000 for the ongoing  campaign but it is also seeking to recruit an extra officer on up to £28,319 to join the  team.

Says project manager Sarah Sankey : The unexpected arrival of Stoats on Orkney in 2010 spelt disaster for native wildlife. 

"They prey on the chicks and eggs of ground-nesting birds such as Curlews and Oystercatchers. 

"They also prey on the unique Orkney Vole, a subspecies found only on Orkney - and nowhere else in the world."

The Orkney Native Wildlife Project has made progress in culling stoats, and the balance of wildlife on the islands is starting to recover. 

Between 2019 and 2023, the Orkney Vole population increased by 189 per cent, the Hen Harrier nest success by 100 per cent and Curlew nest success by  289 per cent.

Continues Ms Sankey: "We can’t stop now! We’re so close to securing the future for Orkney’s native wildlife. 

"We have already raised over £143,000 of our £200,000 target to help complete this ambitious project."

Meanwhile, the society is offering a salary of  between £26,379 and £28,319.00 per annum for a community engagement officer with a brief to persuade landowners of the merits of the project  and to coax them into securing new land access agreements and maintaining historic ones.

The position is a 12-month contract.