Press Coverage

Spreading their wings

Euan Naylor & Jenny Sandiford, Skye

Birds of prey are being used to patrol the skies to provide pest control for industrial estates across the Highlands.

The Isle of Skye Falconry has become a popular tourist attraction since it was formed last summer, but recent interest in the birds' natural killer instincts has led to this change of direction.

Euan Naylor and Jenny Sandiford set up the falconry business in Kensaleyre near Uig with the help of grants from Skye and Lochalsh Enterprise and the Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust.

Ms Sandiford said: "We didn't see ourselves offering a pest control service when we first started the business but it certainly helped us survive a quiet winter.

"We've completed a few contracts, and our birds have been quite successful at scaring off seagulls.

"They don't actually catch or kill them, they just disturb them from nesting and roosting in the area."

The Brief, Highlands and Islands Enterprise,
May 2003