Government cuts have brought welcome news for free range egg producers in East Anglia, with the announcement that Natural England has cut funding for a controversial plan to introduce sea eagles to the region.
Free range egg producers and other farmers in Suffolk have been running a campaign against proposals that could have resulted in 15 sea eagles introduced to the Suffolk coast each year over a five year period. ’Say No to the Sea Eagles’ signs appeared at many roadside sites in Suffolk, and the NFU has been active in its opposition to the plan, which was being pursued by Natural England in partnership with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Natural England has now pulled out because of the desperate state of the Government’s finances. It is thought the scheme could have cost as much as one million pounds.
"Natural England is keenly aware of the reduced funding that will be available to public bodies over the next few years and we have taken this into account when reviewing the substantial body of evidence gathered by the feasibility study," said Dr Tom Tew, chief scientist for Natural England. "All the evidence suggests that a reintroduction would have met all the international criteria and would have been successful. However, reintroduction of a large raptor is an expensive and difficult operation.
"We have taken the decision to withdraw from the project at this stage because we believe it would be inappropriate to commit public funds to an extensive public consultation over a project that we would, in the foreseeable future, be unable to fund." Natural England announced a public consultation on the proposals after the NFU pressed for the views of farmers in the region to be sought before the birds were introduced.
Dr Tew said, "Our work to date shows both support and opposition to the project and we have listened to both sides of the debate. Whilst it will be a disappointment to many that we must withdraw at this stage, we did not think it was in the interests of the public, nor the many people involved, to delay this decision, which is inevitable given the future financial situation
"We will honour our commitment to publish the work that the project has undertaken thus far and this may inform any reintroduction project that is planned in the future."
Natural England said its decision reflected the need for crucial savings in public funding in the current climate of financial restraint. It said it needed to concentrate on existing commitments to biodiversity conservation.
It said the sea eagle project partnership had carried out an extensive programme of work to assess the feasibility of introducing white-tailed eagles to Suffolk. The project had recently received the final piece of evidence that was commissioned in preparation for a future formal public consultation on the proposed introduction.
This was a report from the Food and Environment Research Agency, which had looked at a variety of circumstances where sea eagles might conflict with farming and land management interests in the potential release area.
It had suggested means to address any potential conflict. Natural England said the report recommended a range of measures, including the development of an incentive scheme that would offer payments for specific livestock management, such as extra shepherding, planting of woodland and provision of artificial shelters.
Natural England’s decision has been welcomed by the NFU’s regional spokesman for East Anglia, Brian Finnerty. "It is the right decision to make. We always argued that this project offered poor value for money. It is very hard to justify spending money on this in the current financial climate," said Brian. "It is not just the cost of introducing the birds. There is also the cost of the public consultation, as well as the ongoing cost of monitoring the birds if they were to be introduced."
The NFU argued all along that sea eagles would pose a threat to the livelihood of farmers in the region. It said that evidence from Scotland showed that where the species had been introduced, predation on lambs could sometimes become a problem. The NFU said that 40 per cent of all UK chickens kept for egg production were now kept outdoors on free range farms. For free range egg producers, the threat would not be confined to sea eagles taking chickens, said Brian. The effect of birds of prey hovering above would also have a big impact on productivity.
A growing proportion of table birds are also reared outdoors. Forty per cent of the UK’s pig herd is also kept outside. All these types of units are to be found across East Anglia and many farmers united in their opposition to the introduction of sea eagles.
Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s director of conservation, said Natural England’s decision would disappoint all those who looked forward to the "return of white-tailed eagles to their rightful place in England’s skies.
"Righting the wrongs of the past, which saw these magnificent birds driven from our coasts and wetlands, remains a priority for conservation programmes of the future, particularly when illegal persecution of birds of prey remains far too common in the UK.
"The RSPB recognises that in a time of financial restrictions some projects need to be delayed but we are very concerned that wildlife conservation will be hit very hard by the financial stringencies ahead.
"We call upon the Government to ensure that investment in nature conservation is not turned off at a time when the UK is already failing to meet its own biodiversity targets.
"Our experience with reintroducing white-tailed eagles to Scotland shows how much their presence boosts the local economy through tourism opportunities worth millions of pounds a year. Those benefits will now not be delivered to the local communities as quickly as expected.
"A small number of vocal opponents have campaigned against this project. We will be writing to the Country Land and Business Association to ask whether they could identify suitable areas for a white-tailed eagle reintroduction project where we could work together to achieve a real conservation gain."
Brian Finnerty said the NFU would be monitoring developments and if the RSPCA decided to press ahead with the project the NFU would raise its concerns.
Whilst funding for the scheme in East Anglia was being withdrawn, in Scotland Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham visited Mull at the invitation of NFU Scotland to meet farmers whose businesses have been affected by the introduction of sea eagles to that part of the United Kingdom.
The minister visited Knock Farm, home to NFUS members Lachlan and Donald Maclean, which hosts golden and white-tailed sea eagles and includes sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Protection Area (SPA). She then visited viewing points on Loch Ba to study the proximity of nest sites and the density of the white-tailed sea eagle population in relation to farming in the area.
Lachlan Maclean said, "We illustrated clearly to the Minister how the white-tailed sea eagle’s presence has had a significant effect on a relatively small area of Scotland, with knock-on impact on fragile hill farms and crofts on the island.
"Farmers recognise that the reintroduction of the white-tailed sea eagle has been a real success in terms of conservation but that farmers have had to bear some of the cost of this, with no obvious benefits in return.
"Our aim is to work with the Scottish Government and conservation groups to find practical ways of minimising these effects while fulfilling the potential for conservation and farming to go hand in hand.
"In particular we are studying means of improving lambing percentages and the productivity of hill lambs, while finding ways of preventing live lamb predation without jeopardising the white-tailed sea eagle.
"We believe a happy medium can be found where conservation’s gain is not farming’s loss and vice versa, and we were grateful that the Minister came to Mull so that we could discuss this with her in person."
The Minister said, "The reintroduction of sea eagles to Mull has been a conservation success story, enhancing biodiversity and attracting additional tourists and boosting the island economy.
"The farmers I have visited today are demonstrating how we can balance conservation with farming and economic development.
"There are many challenges in striking the right balance between our immediate economic needs and longer-term conservation needs but I wholeheartedly believe that this can be found."
