With the release of David Attenborough’s new eight-part documentary ‘Our Planet’, which highlights and places the global climate catastrophe front and center, audiences are urged to consider and act upon the impact that humanity has had on wildlife and the natural world. Instead of looking globally at the protection of wildlife, why not focus first, more locally on Northern Ireland’s wildlife and what we, the public have done to damage it and can further do to protect. Domestic pets such as cats and dogs are almost part of the furniture in any Northern Irish home. In March this year, The Belfast Telegraph published an article that stated new research shows that “Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of dog owners in the UK with more than a third of households home to a canine friend.”
For my research into the Northern Irish public’s perception of domesticated animals in comparison to natural wildlife I created a survey which was posted on social media and analyzed the results. My survey found that 63% of those who took the survey had a family pet, which supports the research carried out in the Belfast Telegraph article. Northern Ireland’s laws on owning and caring for domestic animals is also extensive. They include and are not limited to the following – 1. All animals over the age of six months must have a pet license 2. All dogs over eight weeks old must be micro chipped. These are just two examples among the many laws, legislations and advice given by NiDirect, the government services, regarding owning and caring for ‘pets’ and most, if not all face fines or penalties if not met.
Many charities exist in NI which aim to protect and care for what it often described as ‘companion animals.’ My survey found that 90% of those who completed it were aware of at least one local charity in their area which supported the care, protection and rehoming of domestic animals.
A simple Google search brings up around 30 of these but many prefer to solely use social media or are not digitized meaning there are many more of these charities.
‘Companion animals’ are a globally recognized practice, and Northern Ireland of course should partake in all of the above methods of protecting and ensuring their pets are well cared for and given the best lives but there are ways to do this alongside the care and protection of wild animals. There are many species native to Ireland and Northern Ireland, which have been here for extensive periods of time, Hedgehogs and Rabbits have been found to be here from the twelfth century, introduced by the Normans however badgers and foxes are native and remains dating from around 10,000 years ago have been found for both. However, in my survey I asked if people were aware of what types of wildlife Northern Ireland is home to and only half of people said that they were, with 12.5% choosing an option which named ‘other’ in which most commented they were aware of some species wildlife in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland has become globally praised for its outstanding natural beauty, but its care of animals tends to focus more on agricultural and domestic ones and as a result of this many native species have unfortunately become extinct due to human interaction. Wolves - in particular the Grey wolf, whilst not typically the type of animal you would associate with running wild around Ireland with the sheep and the rabbits were common throughout the whole country until the 1700s. Wolves were hunted by humans for fun and for pest control (they attacked their livestock) and eventually became extinct here. The European wildcat was also a common feature amongst Irish wildlife. Deforestation due to increase in demand for homes and towns led to this animal’s extinction. This animal still roams free in Scotland but is considered one of the most endangered species there due to human interaction. It hasn’t just been land animals that have suffered at the hands of man, many sea life and birds have tragically faced the same fate as the wolves and the wildcats. Grey whales once called Irish seas their home but after being hunted for their carcasses, which could be used for candle wax to lamp oil they eventually became extinct in these areas around the 16th century.
Urban Wildlife NI, in an interview I carried out with them, commented that “Public perceptions of both domestic pets and wild animals are quite complex. There are however some general overlapping perceptions and contrasts. The public seem to look upon very young wild animals as just as cuddly and loveable as young pets. As wild animals reach adult hood, they are feared by many as being an unknown danger – thinking of reactions to animals which accidentally get into homes e.g. bats, foxes. As our interactions and experiences with wild animals declines and our experiences with pets increases (households with dogs has quadrupled since the 1960s!) so, our perceptions of animals simply relies on pets and internet/ television rather than direct experience.”
Some scientists theorize that people tend to love pets as a habit of nature, which relates back to our ancestor’s hunter-gatherer past. There is also a theory that pets have evolved to retain very young behavior I.e. remain cuddly and playful to meet human demands or preferences. This may explain why there is an ignorance towards wildlife. People are more emotive to something they can see firsthand and interact with, which may explain their detachment from wildlife. This is, of course simply a generalization. There are roughly just as many charities and organizations for NI wildlife as there is for ‘companion’ animals but, from my survey I have gathered there are less well known to the public for unknown reasons. 87.5% of those who answered said they were unaware of any such charities or organizations whereas nearly everyone was aware of local domestic animals' charities and organizations. One of the oldest Wildlife organizations in Northern Ireland is Ulster Wildlife which has been successfully running for the past 40 years. Their website states that over this time the have been “driven and supported by passionate people who share our views and help us make a difference for nature locally – from protecting wildlife and wild places across Northern
Ireland to championing our seas to inspire people to care for nature on their doorstep.”
Lack of awareness is what appears to be the main problem when it comes to people’s lack of care or ignorance about how they are destroying the environment and the animals that call it their home. Engagement appears to be the main concern. Everyone is aware of what is involved with looking after pets, having owned or having known someone who owned one for the most part of their lives. Wildlife however is something children only meet via Zoos and petting farms where the animals have probably never truly understood what It means to be ‘Wild.’ Although people are more engaged with domestic animals that is not to say they don’t care about them. 75% of people answered they cared equally about the care and preservation of wildlife as domestic animals and 100% said they would like to be made aware of what they could personally do to help the preservation of Northern Ireland’s wildlife.
Puffin Island Interview with Hazel Watson
What care do you provide for the puffins?
“Really we don’t do anything for them they just occur naturally. We don’t do anything to encourage them to come in. The RSPB do own cliffs, but not here this land is owned by the NIEA. There’s no real management to ensure the sea birds keep coming in, the cliffs are just protected there to ensure that no one comes and builds a hotel or golf course and the birds come of their own accord. Having said that there are things that should be done to ensure the protection of the puffins. There are predators such as rats and ferrets, puffins' nest in burrows and are extremely vulnerable to these animals which wouldn’t naturally be on the Island, so one of the things we
hope to do in the future is to get rid of these animals which will help the puffins enormously in terms of breeding. In the past there would have been more puffins than there is now, nesting in more parts of the island which has been restricted due to human’s transporting these animals over accidentally via boats. It’s a big project which requires a lot of money which were still working towards in terms of funding.”
What do you find the publics general reaction to puffins to be?
People are really hoping to see the puffins when they here. The sight in general is so spectacular and people are generally blown away by it. Sometimes you find that when people have been to places with other puffins, off Wales for example, if people have walked amongst puffins, they might find it a bit disappointing here as you’re not as close with them and cannot interact with them. I think it’s great that you’re not impacting on the puffins’ environment and influencing their behaviour. There are ones where you can interact which is brilliant, but these come with the risk that the birds will be affected by this.
Have the number of puffins decreased in recent years and do you feel that humanity has had an impact on this.
It’s impossible for us to answer on the exact number of Puffins. To count the birds you have to go on a boat right round the cliffs and its very difficult to do. There has been counts and the most recent one was 2011 which is actually ages ago now, we don’t really have very up to date information to be able to know that, money and time are also issues. It’s a logistical nightmare! The numbers we do have show, well the first count was in the nineties and there was a count of about 14 or 1500 pairs of puffins nesting and the most recent count we’ve had is about half of that. That possibly coincides with the arrival with the rats and ferrets on the Island. Since that count it has stayed quite stable.
Food also has an impact upon the numbers. If the food chain is disrupted then obvioulsy that is a disaster for them and it might not mean that sandbeals which they rely on the most is damaged by overfishing and it seems most likely that the puffins can find they’ve enough to feed themselves but not enough to feed their chicks. The only other way I suppose humanitity is impacting upon puffins is physical pollution in the ocean. We don’t see a lot of the impacts of that, we do see some instances however, for example last Summer there was a puffin that came into the colony and had plastic fishing rope tied around its legs. We couldn’t find out if it managed to get the rope off or something far worse had happened, there was no way to tell. There’s no doubt that that sort of thing has an impact on sea birds, especially ones that tend to be scavengers.
Do you feel more needs to be done to encourage the public to be interested in local wildlife?
Yea, I do think more needs to be done to encourage the public to be interested in local wildlife. I think a lot of people now are quite disconnected from wildlife, and from nature in general because they live in towns or cities and maybe don’t encounter it much. I would think more needs to be done needs to be done to encourage people to get out and about and find things for themselves. I suppose it’s finding the opportunity to do that – if you live far away from places like this where you can just go and walk amongst nature. For a lot of people it probably would be quite a distance from areas such as this which is one of the reasons there probably is a detachment. We try and share all our sightings on social media in the hopes that people will find them interesting and be encouraged to care more about the environment and hopefully support organizations like the RSPB that are working to ensure that we don’t lose all our important wildlife because a lot of things have declined very seriously in a very short period of time and if
we’re not careful about that things will disappear completely and we’d be a lot worse of for that.
Puffin Sanctuary – Rathlin Island
There are many wildlife sanctuaries, organizations and charities in Northern Ireland and Roonivoolin the conservation and seabird sanctuary on Rathlin Island, just off the coast of Ballycastle is just one of them. The 40-minute ferry from Ballycastle makes an excellent adventure for families with young children and those young at heart alike. Rathlin boasts “Northern Ireland’s largest seabird colony and panoramic coastal views.” and certainly delivers on this. Personally, my trip out to interview RSPB worker Hazel Watson at the colony was a great experience and made a great day out for around only £20. The ferry was £12 return, the bus was £5, and the sanctuary had a student deal for £3.50 with a valid student card, with a local pub to end the day off nicely with!
Most importantly the sanctuary offers the public to witness various seabirds such as Fulmar, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbills and of course the famed Puffins in their natural nesting environment. It is unique in that the cliffs have been made inaccessible to humans to avoid any disturbances to the birds, this may put some people off as they do not get to closely interact with the birds but I feel that this is an extremely beneficial way of allowing people to see wildlife interact with each other organically in an environment that is nearly unaffected by human interaction, allowing these species to thrive authentically.
The ‘viewing point’ offers binoculars and telescopes to ensure the public can glimpse closely the beauty of these species. Visitors are
also offered the opportunity to explore the unique ‘upside down’ lighthouse and many other nature trails and wildlife the Island is home to. Many people come simply to see the birds but are amazed at the many other wonders Rathlin has to offer. The RSPB who run the sanctuary state they are “passionate about nature, dedicated to saving it” which, despite being funded in 1889, over 150 years later still ties in with Sir David Attenborough’s comments on his latest project ‘Our Planet’ about what humans can do to save nature and wildlife throughout the world, starting with those on our doorsteps – or in Rathlin’s sake a ferry ride away
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