White-tailed Eagles Set for Release in Exmoor National Park Despite Farmer Warnings

White-tailed eagles, the United Kingdom's largest bird of prey, will be released across Exmoor National Park after the government approved the latest stage in a controversial national reintroduction scheme.

Up to 20 birds, also known as sea eagles and once extinct in the UK, will be released over three years starting this summer. Concerns persist that the predators could threaten sheep in the area. One farmer in Scotland, where the eagles were reintroduced in 1975, said those in Exmoor should fight the plans "tooth and nail" or risk losing lambs to the birds.

Natural England approved the plans on Wednesday and said the reintroduction would be "carefully planned" alongside local landowners.

The eagles, which have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters (8 feet), have visited Exmoor since their release on the Isle of Wight seven years ago. They have expanded their territories along the south coast since then.

All birds released in Exmoor will be fitted with satellite tags. A project team led by Forestry England and the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation will track their locations and study their progress.

Steve Egerton-Read, white-tailed eagle project manager at Forestry England, said the release would help boost numbers "and continue their spread across southern England."

Ali Hawkins, senior ecologist with Exmoor National Park Authority, said the project's backers were "committed to continuing to work with farmers and other stakeholders, to support them in adapting to this species fledging on Exmoor once again."

White-tailed eagles were once widespread throughout Britain and Ireland but disappeared by 1918 due to habitat loss and human persecution.

The first successful reintroduction began in 1975 on the Isle of Rum in Scotland's Inner Hebrides. As more schemes have launched over the years, their return has not always been welcomed.

Some Scottish farmers say they lose tens of thousands of pounds of livestock each year as the eagles take vulnerable lambs. Ricky Rennie, a fourth-generation farmer on Garvachy Farm near Minard, Argyll, said he has dealt with the impact of white-tailed eagles since 2018.

In the worst year, 2024, he estimates he lost two-thirds of his lambs to the eagles. He estimates losses of up to £30,000 annually.

He said farmers in Exmoor should "fight" to stop the birds being released. "If they're coming in naturally, there's not much you can do about it, but if they're trying to introduce them, I'd be fighting it tooth and nail - because they will eventually put farms out of business," he said.

Andrew Connon, president of the National Farmers' Union Scotland, said: "Any Exmoor release must learn from Scottish experience and ensure that farmers are supported within their existing farm systems to embed strong safeguards for livestock from the outset."

Lamb predation is closely monitored in Scotland, and farmers receive some financial help in managing and mitigating risks to their flocks.

The extent to which white-tailed eagles kill lambs, or mostly take carcasses of already dead animals, remains a point of disagreement between many farmers and conservationists.

A survey of farmers and land managers in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Durham published this month by the NFU found 85% of respondents opposed a proposed reintroduction.

A spokeswoman for the National Sheep Association said the organization had "concerns when new white-tailed sea eagle releases are discussed."

It has called for a full impact assessment of white-tailed eagle reintroductions "taking into account farm viability and mental health" before more releases take place.

NSA chairman Peter Delbridge, a sixth-generation farmer on Exmoor, told the BBC: "We don't want to reach the situation where the genie is out of the bottle and we're experiencing losses but because they are a protected bird we won't be able to deal with it ourselves."