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Photograph by Tom McDonnell, from the LIFE Raft Facebook page
In 2021, the LIFE Raft (Rathlin Acting for Tomorrow) project began with the aim to remove feral Ferrets Mustela furo and Brown or Norway Rats Rattus norvegicus to help secure the future of Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony on inhabited 1371-ha Rathlin Island, off the north coast of County Antrim. Ferrets were released on the island in the 1980s and rats have been present since the 19th century.
“Rathlin is home to over 250 000 seabirds, including internationally important populations of Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots. Researchers on Rathlin found one ferret was responsible for killing 27 adult birds in just two days” (click here).
“In 2025 following the successful eradication of the ferrets [formally announced in March 2026], which were preying on eggs, chicks, and adult seabirds, Manx Shearwaters were recorded breeding on the island for the first time in over two decades. “Using night-vision technology, the LIFE Raft team captured footage of young birds ready to fledge from their burrows, providing the confirmation of Manx Shearwaters successfully nesting and raising chicks on the island.”
From the LIFE Raft Facebook page
First, the ferrets were removed by deployment of 600 kill and live traps and then for the rats over 6500 rodenticide bait stations made of corrugated plastic piping placed every 50 m over the whole island, supported by volunteer teams, rope work on cliffs, field cameras, thermal drones, 28 000 wax chew blocks to detect rats and Woody, the rat detection dog. “No ferrets have been seen on the island since Autumn of 2023 and only two rats have been seen in 2025. The project is currently following international eradication best practice and will continue our rat eradication efforts this Winter, starting November 2025” (click here).. According to ‘Biz’ Bell of Wildlife Management International, Rathlin is the first island from which ferrets have been eliminated.
Manx Shearwater fledglings leave their Rathlin burrows at night, from the LIFE Raft Facebook page
Watch a video about the natural history of Rathlin Island, read a press release about the end of the ferrets and see an earlier ACAP Latest News article on the island’s shearwaters.
News of the project’s success comes in a year when ACAP has chosen “Habitat Restoration” as its theme for World Albatross Day on 19 June 2026.
John Cooper, Emeritus Information Officer, Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels, 31 March 2026