A new recruit has joined the groundbreaking LIFE Raft project on Rathlin Island – Woody, the two-year-old detection dog. And he’s on a mission to save seabirds.

Woody is joining the team to help find any remaining ferrets on Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Northern Ireland.

Both ferrets and rats are invasive non-native species on Rathlin and they have been wreaking havoc on internationally-important seabird populations.

Puffins, guillemots and other seabirds have seen their numbers decimated in recent years, with only one in three puffin chicks (or pufflings) surviving last year.

Woody is joining the team to help find any remaining ferrets on Rathlin Island, off the north coast of Northern Ireland.

LIFE Raft, a project led by RSPB NI and the Rathlin Development Community Association (RDCA), is determined to make Rathlin Island a seabird haven once more by removing ferrets and rats.

Ferret eradication

The team opened ferret traps in October 2023 and, with 98 ferrets caught to date, a world-first is in sight - the first ever feral ferret eradication.

However, that success depends on leaving no stone unturned.

Every potential sighting from the community has been followed up and thermal drones and trail cameras have been deployed, but no technology can beat the evolutionary genius of a dog’s nose.

Woody has been training for months with Kryus Limited (who used Woody’s favourite toy, a ball on a rope, as his reward), and he’s now ready for his first job.

On Tuesday 7 May, Woody landed on Rathlin and he’s officially clocking in on his first day this Wednesday.

Led by his trusty handler LIFE Raft fieldwork manager Michael Rafferty, Woody will be given a tour of the island and introduced to the community before hitting the field to see if he can locate any ferrets.

Brown rats

After his summer spent ferret-finding, Woody will likely be retrained to tackle the next threat: brown rats.

This second invasive non-native species found their way to the island in the 1800s and they, like the ferrets, have found ground-nesting birds to be easy prey.

In September, the team will begin placing almost 7,000 bait stations across the island, kick-starting the final mammoth effort to make Rathlin free from these invasive non-native species.

No easy feat

Michael Rafferty said: "We have all been so excited to welcome Woody to LIFE Raft. It’s been no easy feat attempting a world-first eradication and we knew we needed the best dog for the job to get us over the finish line. Woody's ludicrous energy levels, uncanny sniffing skills and goofy grin ticked all our boxes.”