I absolutely must know the names of the geniuses who thought the Ferrets _they introduced_ would rather tire themselves out chasing rats than go after immobile eggs and chicks. Truly one of the moments of all time
60 days is pretty quick and ambitious. New Zealand experiences have shown that it can take decades even for small islands. Rats and Ferrets are super smart. Mustelids in particular have had trackers put on them. Not only have it shown that they deliberately avoid traps but teach their offspring how to avoid them too. But good luck there have also been many success stories in NZ so rooting for you guys!!
The Judas rat trap was a huge success in NZ. Cleaned all the rats up in many areas. Rats are communal, if a rat is in a trap, others will come & investigate. This method catches more rats than poison or traps.
New Zealand have eradicated predators from many islands for decades now , starting with Otata , Kāpiti and Stephen’s Islands in the 1920s In the 1950s and 60's eradication became more extensive and there are now mainland reserves that have become predator free. The program you refer to as starting, is the entire country has a target to become predator free by 2050. New Zealand encompasses an area 23,910 km² larger than the British Islands (The British Isles excluding The Republic Of Ireland)
I wonder if Charlotte Bosanquet is related to the former News Broadcaster, Reginald Bosanquet (RIP) ? There is definitely a family resemblance. Ironically, Reginald Bosanquet was mentioned in the "Rat-catcher" sketch in the Monty Python's Flying Circus episode of "The Attila The Hun Show" in 1970 !
"LUDWIG! Have you seen the sugar bowl?" "I don't care about the sugar bowl. I am trying to write this symphony!". I think the RSPB on Rathlin Island need to contact Colin Mozart, the ratcatcher.
I don't think so, he says up to 16 tons, and he says at the end of the 60 days the rats should be gone. Let's give you the benefit of the doubt for a moment though. That would be 205g of bait per trap, per day, every day for 60 full days. That amount of bait would require each trap to catch 41 rats per day. That too sounds unreasonable
Ferrets are a domesticated animal and don't usually survive in the wild, they tend to wonder and not settle anywhere, the amount lost by ferreters every year over hundreds of years, you'd expect big colonies all over Britain, whenever i found lost ferrets they're normally in a bad way and covered in ticks.
The immediate question that leaps to mind is: why do you have to kill them? Why can't they just trap them all and then relocate them somewhere more appropriate?
Think a trapper that knows where to set traps is needed. 😂😂😂😂😂 6000 traps. Hope they're checked every 24 hrs. Ferrets wont tackle rats after being around 18 months old as they learn it's not a wise move.
Not necessarily, if they are sensible and get why they are doing it, and what for, maybe not. I did shooting as a kid, never shot an animal, just cardboard👍
In my opinion, natural enemies (maybe some feline species or even bigger predators) of these hunters (rats and ferrets) would have to be introduced to balance the ecosystem. The problem is that foxes for example wouldn't mind to have an egg for breakfast.
Someone doesn’t know much about rats 😂 Do you think they are going to eat rat bait when there’s a good supply of food available? Let me make my prediction, in one year the rat population will still be at 80% of present levels and won’t fall much below it. You are dealing with a creature which is significantly more intelligent than most humans I meet 😂 You can throw money at it but it’s a waste of time, the only way to reduce rat numbers in that environment is with a few very patient and skilled shooters.
Surely introducing raptors like owls could deal with the rat problem. If the rats are nocturnal, surely a species of solitary avian hunters is what is needed. If the birds nest in colonies, owls are unlikely to hunt in dense populations.
No. Introducing new species to deal with the previous ones is a recipe for trouble. Because once the rats and ferrets get scarce or too hard to hunt the predator birds will start hunting the puffins too. Then you have rats and ferrets and owls and hawks ripping into the puffins. Eradication programs work best with least spill over with targeted traps and baits or paid hunters. We have had success with possums and deer here in NZ by putting out bounties and giving hunters heavier weapons and mobility aids. Deer were driven out of many areas by hunters in helicopters with automatic rifles and parks in various cities have been cleared at night by hunters with small calibre rifles and spotlights working in conjunction with council workers setting traps in the day time.
@@briitash That kind of misses the point. The aim is to protect the puffins from getting wiped out by predators; not fattening up a bunch of hawks and owls that can then fly away when all the puffins have been eaten.
If foxes are a natural part of the island's ecology, then they should stay. If seagulls are a natural part of the island's ecology, then they should stay. If locals are responsible with their dogs, then they shouldn't be reprimanded for having them. I am sure that if there were problems with locals deliberately allowing dogs to menace and kill Puffins, then the local authorities will have words or start instilling rules like fines for not keeping dogs on leashes and not allowing clifftop walks during the breeding season. Cats - I'm all in favour of making sure those creatures are removed from all sensitive environments. Seems to me that most cat owners are quite content to let their pets just go out and kill anything they want. They should be de-clawed and have all 4 canine teeth removed at the very least.
🤦🏻♂️ - THE BOTH OF YOU ! 😡 All you need to do is get around a hundred dogs yeah I know that sounds extremely expensive around 100 dogs, train each one of them the scent of the bird is friend and the scent of the ferret and the mice, are the Enemy ! Release them onto the island for at least a Month, BAM ! ! The, Problem Has, Bin Taken Care of !
@@kevinthebespectacledpilgrim I like rats, I agree they have to be controlled, whoever released ferrets knew nothing about them, a female rat with young won't back off from a ferret and will give it a good fight, many ferrets refuse to work rats, ferrets have been domesticate for over a 1000 years, their job is to bolt rabbits from warrens, without a net of dog to catch fleeing animals they're of little use, even stranger they don't survive in the wild, the instinct to form a territory and living burrow as been bred out of them, the, just endlessly wonder, something isn't right about this story, why bring politics into it.
Take out the ferrets atst as the rats and as one source of food goes the ferrets will revert to birds/eggs so they need to go atst. Also get rid of cats.
You can't rehome 'wild' ferrets. They're not going to settle down with humans after they've been living free for years. They will be unhappy with suddenly being restrained and you don't want your fingers near an angry ferret that's had its freedom removed. When there are more than enough ferrets already requiring homes online, no one is going to spend time and money trying to rehabilitate 150 wild ferrets. It's not fair, but they have to be destroyed.
No. Nature is all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people, and all the events and processes that are not caused by people. It was people that introduced rats and ferrets to the island. By definition, this is not nature.
You can eliminate ferrets but it's hard to get rid of rats, a waste of taxpayers money and efforts. Why not completely ban puffin hunting, I've heard they are considered delicacy there.
@@run2cat4run puffins are delicacy there, why not complete ban on puffin hunting ? Why interfere in nature and eradicate other species? Can't they control there taste buds for a few years ? Inb4 i am not a vegan.
I absolutely must know the names of the geniuses who thought the Ferrets _they introduced_ would rather tire themselves out chasing rats than go after immobile eggs and chicks.
Truly one of the moments of all time
In 1985, peoples solution to everything was a ferret. what were they thinking, smh
they're irish, why you surprised
@@astroboirap governed by the UK
@@astroboirap racist much?
Couldn't we ship in some honey badgers? They'd kill all the ferrets and rats.
60 days is pretty quick and ambitious. New Zealand experiences have shown that it can take decades even for small islands. Rats and Ferrets are super smart. Mustelids in particular have had trackers put on them. Not only have it shown that they deliberately avoid traps but teach their offspring how to avoid them too. But good luck there have also been many success stories in NZ so rooting for you guys!!
The Judas rat trap was a huge success in NZ. Cleaned all the rats up in many areas.
Rats are communal, if a rat is in a trap, others will come & investigate. This method catches more rats than poison or traps.
1:20...Ferrets being introduced to protect bird eggs but instead joining the rats, is probably the most ironic thing you'll hear this week.
South Georgia has previously eradicated rats. New Zealand is starting on a programme too !
New Zealand have eradicated predators from many islands for decades now , starting with Otata , Kāpiti and Stephen’s Islands in the 1920s
In the 1950s and 60's eradication became more extensive and there are now mainland reserves that have become predator free.
The program you refer to as starting, is the entire country has a target to become predator free by 2050.
New Zealand encompasses an area 23,910 km² larger than the British Islands (The British Isles excluding The Republic Of Ireland)
An army of Jack Russells will sort out the problem, they love rats and ferrets😂
Too right, mine would have a field day👍
Not sure how a Jack Russell would do on a cliff face.
@@sukotu23 Jack Russells on a bungee harness! Cliff diving for rats.
They could probably pay for the program with the video rights.
And birds and eggs too 🙄 terriers just kill anything smaller than themselves. They'd guzzle clicks and eggs like candy
Shiant isles have successfully managed to be declared rat free at last. A great victory for the resident bird population .
And then the birds will disappear anyway and the government will just say "oops".
How to make a problem worse , just add humans.
Dinosaurs got extinct because Aliens added humans.
Nothing else efficaciously unbalances an equilibrium quite like an Introduced Species ⚖️ 5:06
Two introduced species.
Eliminating a native species is also pretty good at unbalancing an equilibrium. Take the elimination of the European beaver as an example.
Like humans you mean?
There was an old woman who swallowed a fly
...........
Same problem in New Zealand with the same introduced species, only on a much bigger scale.
Do you have colonies of domestic ferrets in NZ?
They should introduce bobcats to get rid of the ferits and rats. That'll fix it.
Rather like the song. I know an old lady who swallowed a fly.
@@priscillaroberts7945
Yes! Introduce old ladies!
@@Wotsitorlabart 😂 this comment section made my Saturday morning before getting up lol
Bobcats kill more birds than ferret
I hope this project to get rid of them will be a full success. Time to correct another mistake of the past. Best of luck to everyone involved.
Here's THE BIGGEST mistake of the past - human beings. This is a god-awful plan & needs to be changed.
I wonder if Charlotte Bosanquet is related to the former News Broadcaster, Reginald Bosanquet (RIP) ? There is definitely a family resemblance.
Ironically, Reginald Bosanquet was mentioned in the "Rat-catcher" sketch in the Monty Python's Flying Circus episode of "The Attila The Hun Show" in 1970 !
"LUDWIG! Have you seen the sugar bowl?"
"I don't care about the sugar bowl. I am trying to write this symphony!".
I think the RSPB on Rathlin Island need to contact Colin Mozart, the ratcatcher.
I bet everyone was thinking that ferret's being a bad Idea was a just a bunch of conspiracy theorists
Bird of a feather, flock together. Ferrets don't have feathers! Of course they joined forces with the rats, you fools!
60 days? How small and concentrated is this rat infestation that it'll be cleared in just 60 days? Bit optimistic.
It's 60 days for the team to lay 16 tonnes of poison.
I don't think so, he says up to 16 tons, and he says at the end of the 60 days the rats should be gone.
Let's give you the benefit of the doubt for a moment though. That would be 205g of bait per trap, per day, every day for 60 full days. That amount of bait would require each trap to catch 41 rats per day.
That too sounds unreasonable
@@tjmarx I agree, 60 days sounds like a fraction of the time they'll need
Enjoyable film and yes ferrets were a no no
Conviniently leaving out that the bird poop is highly valuable as fertilizer
Why would they mention “bird poop”...?
The government will have to impose direct rule on the island and send the troops in.
The emu wars😂
Air Rifles will do the Job
Regular surveys ,and trapping cameras at certain points ,will all help.!
How meny ferrets have been trapped
Channel 4 on one side = whole of youtube on the other.
What is that even supposed to mean..🤷♂️
Ferrets are a domesticated animal and don't usually survive in the wild, they tend to wonder and not settle anywhere, the amount lost by ferreters every year over hundreds of years, you'd expect big colonies all over Britain, whenever i found lost ferrets they're normally in a bad way and covered in ticks.
Yeah I think maybe someone cocked up and introduced polecats.
The immediate question that leaps to mind is: why do you have to kill them? Why can't they just trap them all and then relocate them somewhere more appropriate?
Where 😂
@@acorncs literally anywhere where there is no other wildlife that will get wiped out by them.
@@SnugglesPlays like where? They are rats and ferrets, they eat other animals?
Send me your address and I'll get them all shipped to you to look after. Give a ferret and a rat a hug.
When are you in to take that delivery? 😂
Ferrets were THE stupidest idea. Biggest suckers for eggs. What they going to introduce to eat the rats and the ferrets? Cats?
Wonderful
Didn't they learn anything from the old woman who swallowed a fly?
Think a trapper that knows where to set traps is needed. 😂😂😂😂😂
6000 traps. Hope they're checked every 24 hrs.
Ferrets wont tackle rats after being around 18 months old as they learn it's not a wise move.
Does no one remember "The King, The Mice and the Cheese"?
Introduce teenagers with air rifles.
and just like the ferrets they'd get bored of targeting rats so they'd literally turn their sights to the birds. 🤣
Not necessarily, if they are sensible and get why they are doing it, and what for, maybe not. I did shooting as a kid, never shot an animal, just cardboard👍
The attrition rate of death by cliff-selfie misadventure would be too high....
In my opinion, natural enemies (maybe some feline species or even bigger predators) of these hunters (rats and ferrets) would have to be introduced to balance the ecosystem. The problem is that foxes for example wouldn't mind to have an egg for breakfast.
You are making the same mistake as the fool who introduced the ferrets. Any predator will also hunt the protected species.
Ferrets will kill cats and cats are also majorly invasive species and cause havoc on any bird populations.
Good luck!
Eradicate rats? Seriously? No one's ever done it yet.
Someone doesn’t know much about rats 😂
Do you think they are going to eat rat bait when there’s a good supply of food available?
Let me make my prediction, in one year the rat population will still be at 80% of present levels and won’t fall much below it.
You are dealing with a creature which is significantly more intelligent than most humans I meet 😂 You can throw money at it but it’s a waste of time, the only way to reduce rat numbers in that environment is with a few very patient and skilled shooters.
You have to hope this works.
Also, how do you know the birds won't be killed by the poison?
Depends on the brand of poison that they’re using. Some poisons are more harmful to other species than other poisons.
Brown rats will seek warmth, shelter and food in winter, as do people. Provide areas with these and you can trap most of them.
Bit offtopic but.did Dr.Tosh have a Scottish accent?
No.
@@debbiehenri345 Thank you. Im guessing just an NI accent.
Sorry to correct you Debbie but i do have a Scottish accent. Diluted by 20 years in Irelandbut im hanging on! 😂
Another great biodiversity story from Alex Thomson
Strumpets need an honest pay.
I agree! They need to be eradicated! I hope this plan is introduced in rat infested areas in the uk too!
Surely introducing raptors like owls could deal with the rat problem. If the rats are nocturnal, surely a species of solitary avian hunters is what is needed. If the birds nest in colonies, owls are unlikely to hunt in dense populations.
No. Introducing new species to deal with the previous ones is a recipe for trouble. Because once the rats and ferrets get scarce or too hard to hunt the predator birds will start hunting the puffins too. Then you have rats and ferrets and owls and hawks ripping into the puffins. Eradication programs work best with least spill over with targeted traps and baits or paid hunters. We have had success with possums and deer here in NZ by putting out bounties and giving hunters heavier weapons and mobility aids. Deer were driven out of many areas by hunters in helicopters with automatic rifles and parks in various cities have been cleared at night by hunters with small calibre rifles and spotlights working in conjunction with council workers setting traps in the day time.
@@kaymish6178 except birds have a tendency to just fly away when food is scarce.
@@briitash That kind of misses the point. The aim is to protect the puffins from getting wiped out by predators; not fattening up a bunch of hawks and owls that can then fly away when all the puffins have been eaten.
Ratlin Island.
How will they dispose of the dead rats?
They are supposed to incinerate them.
Good luck
Must be the least Northern Irish part of Ulster. Where's the local accent?
Those are govt. and BBc types. Rathlin is indeed Irish
@@seasickdave So where are the Irish people?
Interesting... foxes next?? Seagulls?? Cats! Dogs?😅😅
There are too many cats killing too many birds
@@run2cat4run this is a really tough job... I wonder what predator can help reduce those numbers...
@@roni2977 What about The Predator?
(not the terrible film from 2018)
@@roni2977 human
If foxes are a natural part of the island's ecology, then they should stay.
If seagulls are a natural part of the island's ecology, then they should stay.
If locals are responsible with their dogs, then they shouldn't be reprimanded for having them. I am sure that if there were problems with locals deliberately allowing dogs to menace and kill Puffins, then the local authorities will have words or start instilling rules like fines for not keeping dogs on leashes and not allowing clifftop walks during the breeding season.
Cats - I'm all in favour of making sure those creatures are removed from all sensitive environments. Seems to me that most cat owners are quite content to let their pets just go out and kill anything they want. They should be de-clawed and have all 4 canine teeth removed at the very least.
🤦🏻♂️ - THE BOTH OF YOU ! 😡
All you need to do is get around a hundred dogs yeah I know that sounds extremely expensive around 100 dogs, train each one of them the scent of the bird is friend and the scent of the ferret and the mice, are the Enemy !
Release them onto the island for at least a Month, BAM !
! The, Problem Has, Bin Taken Care of !
Bring on the cats😂
What next.🙄
Can’t they relocate ferrets to Boris Johnsons garden?
Why?
@@hetrodoxly1203some seem to think he’s a lying rat maybe?
@@kevinthebespectacledpilgrim I like rats, I agree they have to be controlled, whoever released ferrets knew nothing about them, a female rat with young won't back off from a ferret and will give it a good fight, many ferrets refuse to work rats, ferrets have been domesticate for over a 1000 years, their job is to bolt rabbits from warrens, without a net of dog to catch fleeing animals they're of little use, even stranger they don't survive in the wild, the instinct to form a territory and living burrow as been bred out of them, the, just endlessly wonder, something isn't right about this story, why bring politics into it.
Take out the ferrets atst as the rats and as one source of food goes the ferrets will revert to birds/eggs so they need to go atst.
Also get rid of cats.
WTF is wrong with you? Seriously
Don't think there are cats on the island!!!
Truly? 😢 Take the ferrets and the rats out of the island to sanctuaries, please don't be cruel it does not pay
A 'rat sanctuary' ?. First time I've ever heard of that, lol.
Lucky there are no animals that will be killed after eating poisoned rats.
Yep time's up for any cannibal rats or scavenging ferrets.
Whos idea was it.. ffs
Live trap and rehome the ferrets
You can't rehome 'wild' ferrets.
They're not going to settle down with humans after they've been living free for years. They will be unhappy with suddenly being restrained and you don't want your fingers near an angry ferret that's had its freedom removed.
When there are more than enough ferrets already requiring homes online, no one is going to spend time and money trying to rehabilitate 150 wild ferrets.
It's not fair, but they have to be destroyed.
lol good luck with eradicating rats
Nice
This is Ireland, border is in the Irish sea where it always belonged, brits out.
32 county Republic.
🧐🐣
Tarish
Grim nowhere dump
aye that sums Brexit Britain up alright. grim nowhere dump.
The UK isn't that bad...yet.
Its called nature
No. Nature is all the animals, plants, and other things in the world that are not made by people, and all the events and processes that are not caused by people. It was people that introduced rats and ferrets to the island. By definition, this is not nature.
Ferret's are just rat's that have been stretched out on a wrack!😂
Pretending to love nature but destroying other nature...
Oow the woke will have a field day with this
Really...why?
Just curios,what do you think the word “woke” means..?
You can eliminate ferrets but it's hard to get rid of rats, a waste of taxpayers money and efforts. Why not completely ban puffin hunting, I've heard they are considered delicacy there.
So let them died off?
@@run2cat4run puffins are delicacy there, why not complete ban on puffin hunting ? Why interfere in nature and eradicate other species? Can't they control there taste buds for a few years ? Inb4 i am not a vegan.
No puffins aren't a delicacy in northern ireland AFAIK
It’s already been done on several New Zealand islands. Its totally possible and not that expensive when compared to the extinction of a species
They most certainly do not eat Puffins on Rathlin. You wouldn't even be able to get to them.
Bring in the cats 🐈 please
Just bring in some snakes
Snakes eat chicks too.
@@andrewjones-productions not if the mongoose eats the snake first
@@reallymakesyouthink what if the mongeeses like bird eggs?!?
@@stephenwalker2924 This may cause a problem
It’s Ireland mate,not Australia...what kind of snake do you imagine would eat rats on an island with that climate..?
Hate rats, weasels and snitches😬🤬
Let Darwin theory work, why human interference?
Humans interfered in the first instance did they not ?
Because we gotta fix the mess we made in the first place.
The ferrets won't eat rat poison they are pure carnivores
No,the rat poison is for the rats.
At least beavers know where to build their homes unlike people 🦫