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AI-Powered Project Targets Stoat Eradication in Orkney

10/19/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Orkney, Scotland, is using AI and heat-detecting cameras in a conservation project led by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to eradicate stoats.
Conservationists have trapped nearly 8,000 stoats over six years.
The project aims to eliminate about 95% of the stoat population, leaving roughly 100 pregnant stoats.
The effort is backed by a £16 million budget and has coincided with increases in curlews, voles, and hen harriers.

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Story summary

Orkney, Scotland, is using AI and heat-detecting cameras in a conservation project led by Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to eradicate stoats.
Conservationists have trapped nearly 8,000 stoats over six years.
The project aims to eliminate about 95% of the stoat population, leaving roughly 100 pregnant stoats.
The effort is backed by a £16 million budget and has coincided with increases in curlews, voles, and hen harriers.