Dotted among a small flock of sheep in a field in the Scottish Highlands, Luigi and Peaches, two young working dogs with thick white coats, are busy being trained to keep watch on the skies above.
Dotted among a small flock of sheep in a field in the Scottish Highlands, Luigi and Peaches, two young working dogs with thick white coats, are busy being trained to keep watch on the skies above.
The pair, who descend from the Roman-era Maremma breed reared by shepherds to protect their livestock from wolves, are learning to guard against Scotland’s resurgent sea eagles, formally known as white-tailed eagles.
Once driven to extinction across the British Isles, they have been successfully reintroduced in recent decades but are increasingly blamed for ravaging lambs left to roam the countryside.
The loss of the valuable livestock is sparking tensions with some farmers, devastated by the financial fallout and demanding the government issue licenses to shoot the birds.
The worsening situation prompted Jonny and Daisy Ames to create the dog training program at their falconry near Aviemore, in the hope it will allow farmers and eagles to better coexist.
« The last thing that we want is to see eagles being shot, for licenses to be issued and to end up back at square one, » Daisy Ames told AFP.
« There needs to be a solution that works for both sides. »
Sea eagles were once a common sight across Scotland but were hunted to extinction throughout the 19th century, with the last bird shot in 1918.
