- The RSPB is trialling the measure to prevent a flock in Cumbria from disturbing birds
A flock of problem sheep have been fitted with electric shock collars to prevent them from disturbing rare birds.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds is trialling the collars on a 26-acre site at its Geltsdale reserve in Cumbria.
Nofence collars work with an app to activate a “non-harmful electrical pulse” when grazing sheep get too close to the birds’ nesting site.
The collars emit an audible warning before the shock, and the sheep learn to listen for the signal and take a step back before receiving the shock.
Nofence collars work with an app to activate a “non-harmful electrical pulse” when grazing sheep get too close to the birds’ nesting site.
Birds such as curlews (pictured), lapwings and skylarks nest on the ground, meaning their eggs or chicks are often crushed by livestock (File Photo)
Birds such as the curlew, lapwing and skylark, whose numbers have declined in recent decades, nest on the ground, meaning their eggs or chicks are often crushed by livestock.
Eating the vegetation around the nest also destroys the protective “screen” that hides the nest from predators such as foxes.
The RSPB said: “It is encouraging to see birds already nesting in areas where collared sheep have been prevented from grazing.”
