LONDON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A novel way of tackling the problem of sheep stealing on Scotland's remote Highland hillsides is to be piloted.
Laser beams shone on hillsides to be trialed in a bid to stop Britain's largest bird of prey, the white-tailed Sea Eagle, from grabbing lambs to feed their chicks. It has a wing span of 245 centimeters.
It follows complaints from shepherds and farmers who live in crofts in areas including the Isle of Skye and the Gairloch peninsula who have complained of the birds killing lambs and sheep up to 18 months old.
Conservation agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) said trials using laser technology would be carefully monitored, with laser beams being shone on to the hills and not directly at the eagles.
New techniques being trialed include audio or light-based bird scaring devices, with other measures, including cutting down trees close to a lambing area, also planned in a bid to stop eagles nesting in them and preying on lambs.
Ross Lilley, SNH's sea eagle project manager, said the serious concerns of some farmers and crofters about the impact of sea eagles on livestock have been acknowledged.
He said: "At this point, no trials on laser-scaring deterrents for sea eagles have been undertaken. They are under consideration along with other options."
David Colthart, a farmer and member of the Argyll and Lochaber Sea Eagle Stakeholder Group, told media in Scotland that not all sea eagles were a problem but some did prey on lambs.
Colhart said if the laser trial is successful it could be rolled out under license to other areas where the birds cause problems.
A report in 2016 predicted the number of sea eagles was likely to reach around 220 pairs by 2025, with potential for a much larger population by 2040. Sea eagles became extinct in the UK in 1916, largely due to persecution. Sea eagles are one of Britain's most protected species.
The Daily Telegraph reported that the rare eagles are have been the subject since 1975 of a successful, but controversial, reintroduction program in different parts of Scotland, most recently on the east coast.
A spokesman for SNH, the conservation agency, said: "We are working hard with farmers, crofters and conservationists to minimize any impacts. We are collectively trying to devise means of reducing risks of lambs being taken live."
