Prof Ian Convery from the University of Cumbria and Rebecca Wrigley, founder and chief executive of Rewilding Britain, have addressed concerns regarding the reintroduction of white-tailed eagles to Britain. They argue that eagles and seabirds coexisted for thousands of years before eagles were driven to extinction through human persecution.
They state that predation and disturbance are not new ecological pressures, but historically established interactions that have been absent from much of the British landscape for over a century. They suggest that accepting an ecologically impoverished landscape as a conservation baseline is a danger.
The experts also highlight that Norwegian research cited does not demonstrate that eagles cause the "wipeout" of seabird colonies. Instead, it documents how eagle disturbance, largely from immature eagles, can accelerate declines in colonies already experiencing food shortages. They emphasise that if impacts are greatest where seabirds struggle to find food, protecting prey availability must be central to conservation efforts.
The Cumbrian White-tailed Eagle Project is currently exploring these questions, combining ecological research with community engagement to assess the opportunities and risks of restoration. They advocate for rigorous ecological assessment and adaptive management, rather than assuming that restoring a native predator is an unacceptable conservation risk.