Public consultation report, white-tailed eagle project

• Main Author: Mayhew, Michael
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: 598 Birds; 577 Ecology; Haliaeetus albicilla; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: http://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3831/; https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/3831/1/Final%20report%201docx.pdf

The aim of this study was to conduct a public consultation to evaluate public opinion regarding the ecological, economic and social impacts of a proposed white-tailed eagle (WTE) (Haliaeetus albicilla) re-introduction in Cumbria. The consultation was designed to support a licence application from Natural England for a Schedule 9 species by complying with the requirements of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) re-introduction guidelines for social feasibility studies. An anonymised, self-administered questionnaire (n=300) based on a series of attitudinal and classification questions was implemented at six survey sites in North Cumbria, between 16 July 2012 and 02 August 2012, using non-random quota sampling methods. Despite substantial variation in the knowledge base of the participants to the study, support for a Cumbrian WTE re-introduction was widespread and transcended differences in the demographic, geographic and employment profiles of the study cohort. The Cumbrian survey established a broad consensus of opinion that a WTE re-introduction would benefit the environment and bolster the tourist industry. Furthermore the population in Cumbria were unanimous in expressing the sentiment that WTEs would enrich their experience of nature. Despite overarching support for the re-introduction proposal, consideration should be given to the smaller proportion that described genuine concerns or were undecided with regard to a number of issues including the cost of the initiative, the financial impacts on livestock farming and the perceived threats to domestic pets.