And Now for Something Stoatally Different New Zealand Dog to End the Menace of Stoats
And Now for Something Stoatally Different
New Zealand Dog to End the Menace of Stoats
Some visitors are unwelcome and some visitors are downright hooligans. The latter applies to the stoats on Orkney as they have ravaged the local seabird population. Stoats are a member of the weasel family and they were first recorded on Orkney in 2010. They are a menace to wildlife, particularly the Orkney vole, hen harrier, short-eared owl and ground-nesting birds. And so something had to be done and a plan is in place to totally eradicate the nasty beasties. To that end a fox terrier called Macca has arrived in Orkney from New Zealand with his handler to join the world’s largest island species eradication gig.
Terriers from Down Under
The terrier has been specially trained to find stoats and make sure his handler knows about it. Since the first sightings the stoats have been spotted on Orkney and the four islands — Lamb Holm, Glims Holm, Burray and South Ronaldsay. All of these islands are linked by causeways to the main island. There are also nasty rumours of these wild chappies on non-linked islands, including Hoy. Stoats are wary creatures and difficult to locate, or even detect and so the specially trained dogs are the only way and Macca is one of six eventually to be part of the project. These weasel like beasts can also swim almost two miles over open water so there are even more islands at risk. This effort is part of a worldwide plane to eradicate threats to native species on remote islands. They’ve been successfully at it in the South Atlantic on Georgia.
Free from Nasties
But all visitors to the James Pirie site are welcome and we make sure there are no bugs or nasties to trouble our customers or website visitos. And as it is the wedding season still and with many an anniversary to match from previous weddings in the period we’ve got a great series of choices and selections abound for the discerning buyer who is also conscious of a budget. So whether you are buying for the bride and groom, or for the bridesmaids and groomsmen we have it covered. And we can usually slip in a great price so your bank manager will be happy. Enjoy the safe browsing and have a great time if you get to go to the wedding.
