Second stoat caught in Rousay after ‘deeply concerning’ development

A second stoat has now been caught in Rousay, two days after a new sighting saw eradication efforts stepped up 

Orkney Native Wildlife Project (ONWP) called the sighting near the Loch of Loomachun on Wednesday “deeply concerning.”

It came off the back of a seven-month £150,000 hunt to find what was thought to be just a single male mustelid in Rousay.

That animal was caught in a trap on Friday, October 9, but the hunt had to be relaunched after a second stoat was spotted on Wednesday, October 21.

ONWP have said that a further stoat has now been caught, close to where it was seen on camera.

It remains unclear if this is the same animal spotted earlier this week.

The eradication team say that both stoats caught in Rousay are male.

“This means that we have still seen no evidence to suggest that there are female stoats, or stoats breeding, on Rousay, despite heavy and sustained surveillance,” an ONWP spokesman said.

The £16 million conservation project has said it cannot be certain how and when the recently caught stoats arrived in Rousay.

It says they are strong swimmers and they could have crossed Eynhallow Sound to arrive on the island.

It is also possible that somebody broke the law by releasing the invasive animal deliberately.

Future DNA testing may be able to confirm the stoats’ origins, the project team says.

Rousay will now be monitored for two years, which ONWP says is in line with international best practice.

The conservation team have confirmed that the £150,000 boost it received for the Rousay incursion does not cover the costs of the full monitoring period.