Rousay Stoat removed after months-long search
Trappers, detection dogs and island volunteers have caught an invasive Stoat on the Orkney island, but monitoring must still establish whether it was the only animal present.
An invasive Stoat detected on Rousay in spring has been caught after a months-long search involving specialist trappers, detection dogs, cameras and reports from the Orkney island's community.
The RSPB reported that the animal entered a lethal humane trap on 9 October. The response began after visitors reported a possible sighting in April and a camera confirmed the Stoat's presence in early May.
Rousay covers about 4,500 hectares, much of it heather moorland. Finding a single fast-moving predator across that terrain required extra traps and cameras, searches by Stoat detection dogs and repeated checks around reported hotspots, including the Loch of Loomachun.
Stoats are native to mainland Britain but not to Orkney. They were first reported in the archipelago in 2010 and became established on Orkney Mainland and the four islands linked to it by the Churchill Barriers.
Ground-nesting birds and Orkney Voles are particularly exposed. Rousay supports Curlews, Arctic Terns, Red-throated Divers, Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owls, while the Orkney Vole is a distinctive subspecies found nowhere else.
Around half the island is protected for nature. Biosecurity traps and monitoring devices had already been placed on high-risk islands as part of the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, allowing the team to mount an incursion response rather than wait for a population to become established.
Project trapper Alice Head-Rapson said the capture was a major achievement but stressed that monitoring must establish whether the trapped Stoat was alone. That unresolved question is the principal limitation on describing the island as secure.
It is still important we guarantee with complete confidence that the Stoat we have trapped was the only one.
Alice Head-Rapson, Orkney Native Wildlife Project
A single female arriving pregnant, or more than one animal reaching the island, would create a different level of risk. Stoats reproduce quickly and can be extremely difficult to eliminate once they are widespread, which is why early detection and a sustained follow-up are central to island biosecurity.
The project credits residents, landowners and visitors who supplied sightings and signs. Local volunteer Ian Barker described the search as a collaboration between professionals and the community across terrain that was easy for a Stoat to hide in and difficult for people to cross.
Since 2019, the partnership has been working to remove Stoats from Orkney and prevent their spread. It brings together RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Orkney Islands Council, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, EU LIFE and the Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund.
The Rousay incident shows why eradication and biosecurity are separate tasks. Removing an established population reduces the immediate threat, but boats, cargo and linked transport routes continue to create opportunities for recolonisation unless surveillance remains active.
For now, the verified result is the removal of one confirmed animal. Cameras, traps, dogs and public reporting will be needed before the project can conclude that no additional Stoats remain on Rousay.
21 Oct 2026
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