Exmoor Wins Approval to Release 20 White-Tailed Eagles Over 3 Years Despite Farmers' Warnings
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 13
Exmoor Wins Approval to Release 20 White-Tailed Eagles Over 3 Years Despite Farmers' Warnings
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 13
Up to 20 white-tailed eagles will be released across Exmoor National Park from this summer after Natural England approved the next stage of the reintroduction scheme.
All 20 birds will carry satellite tags, and Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation say the rollout will be closely managed with landowners to expand the species across southern England.
Scottish farmers say the birds can hit flocks hard: one Argyll farmer said he lost two-thirds of his lambs in 2024 and estimates annual losses of up to £30,000.
Opposition is broader than Exmoor alone, with an NFU survey this month finding 85% of farmers and land managers in parts of northern England against a proposed reintroduction there.
White-tailed eagles, driven extinct in the UK by 1918, have been returning through reintroduction projects since 1975, but disputes persist over whether they kill healthy lambs or mainly scavenge carcasses.
As sea eagles return, who truly pays the price for rewilding when livelihoods are at risk?
Why reintroduce eagles while failing to stop the illegal raptor persecution that threatens their survival?