Wildlife killed at the airport since 2024

Summary

The Department of Infrastructure provided data on wildlife killed at Isle of Man Airport for 2024 and early 2025, detailing species counts, culling methods, and disposal procedures while clarifying they hold no records for other airports.

Key Facts

• Records are only held for Isle of Man Airport, not other airports.
• Lethal control is a last resort, primarily using shotguns for birds and air rifles for mammals.
• Carcasses are incinerated or sent to a UK laboratory for identification if unidentifiable.
• Non-lethal methods like auditory deterrents and habitat management are the primary approach.
• A small number of Schedule 1 protected birds were involved in strikes or accidental culling.

Data Disclosed

• 2024
• 2025 (to end of March)
• 64 Herring gulls culled in 2024
• 88 Rabbits culled in 2024
• 33 Pheasants culled in 2024
• 14 NR (Not Recorded) strikes in 2024
• 22 Herring gulls culled in 2025
• 11 Pheasants culled in 2025
• 9 Rabbits culled in 2025
• 1 strike in 2025
• Wildlife Act 1990
• 2025-04-16
• 2025-05-02

Original Request

How many birds and animals have been killed at all airports in a) 2024 and b) 2025 (to date)? What species are they? (Please refer to exact species - not simply groups such as 'crows'). How are they killed? What happens to their bodies after death? Please can you provide figures since 1 January 2024 and 1 January 2025 (to date) separately.

Data Tables (1)

Data Tables (reformatted)

Full Response Text

Please note the Department only holds records for Isle of Man Airport. We do not hold information for any other airports.

How are they killed?

Birds are only dispatched when they pose a threat to aircraft safety. When lethal control is required, birds are typically shot using a shotgun with rabbits and hares culled using a .25 calibre air rifle. All culling is carried out humanely by trained and authorised personnel.

In some cases, animals are unintentionally killed following a collision or bird strike with an aircraft during landing or take-off.

What Happens to the Remains after Death?

If culled or found intact on the airfield, carcasses are hygienically sealed in plastic bags and sent for incineration.

If a carcass (or only partial remains after a strike) cannot be immediately identified, it is sent to a specialist laboratory in the United Kingdom for analysis/identification and safe disposal.

Use of Non-Lethal Methods.

It is important to emphasise that non-lethal bird control methods are our primary and preferred approach. These methods include: auditory deterrents, visual deterrents (including specialist laser devices) and habitat management to make the airfield less attractive to birds and mammals.

Lethal control is only used as a last resort, when a significant and persistent threat to aviation safety has been identified and non-lethal measures have been ineffective.

The following tables summarise the numbers of wildlife culled or killed following a strike with an aircraft.

Wildlife Culled

Species 2024 2025 (to end of March) Black-headed gull 6 1 Blackbird 1 0 Carrion crow 6 0 Common gull 2 0 Duck (mallard) 1 0 Greater black-backed gull 1 1 Greenshank 1 0 Grey heron 0 1 Hare 12 0 Herring gull 64 22 Hooded crow 6 0 Lesser black-backed gull 5 0 Pheasant 33 11 Pigeon 4 1 Rabbit 88 9 Rook 14 0 Starling 1 0

Species 2024 2025 (to end of March) Stock dove 10 0 Unknown/other species 1 0

Wildlife Struck By Aircraft

Species 2024 2025 (to end of March) Pigeon 1 0 Meadow pipit 5 0 Skylark 8 0 House martin 1 0 Stock dove 1 0 Swallow 1 0 Ringed plover 1 0 Herring gull 1 0 Brown hare 1 0 NR (Not Recorded) 14 1

Schedule 1 Birds – Wildlife Act 1990

A small number of birds listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Act 1990 appear in the statistics provided.

These include several skylarks involved in bird strike incidents during aircraft take-off or landing, as well as a single starling that was recorded as culled. Starlings, although protected, are highly mobile, small, and fast-moving birds that often travel in dense, erratic flocks (known as murmurations). They are among the most commonly observed bird species on the aerodrome.

Personnel involved in wildlife control are specifically trained and authorised for the role, and deliberate targeting of Schedule 1 species is not permitted and does not occur. Given the size, speed, and unpredictable flight characteristics of starlings, deliberate targeting would in any case be operationally unfeasible while maintaining safe shooting practices.

The starling recorded as culled was most likely either:

• Accidentally struck during the culling of another species, due to its rapid and erratic movement within mixed flocks; or • Humanely dispatched after suffering injuries sustained during a collision with an aircraft.

The Airport remains committed to ensuring that wildlife control is carried out with due regard for both aviation safety and environmental protection legislation

Department of Infrastructure Sea Terminal Building, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2RF

Contact: FOI Response Team Telephone: (01624) 686785 Email: dpo-doi@gov.im

Our ref: 4598981 28 April 2025

Dear ###

We write further to your request, received 16 April 2025, which states:

"How many birds and animals have been killed at all airports in a) 2024 and b) 2025 (to date)? What species are they? (Please refer to exact species - not simply groups such as 'crows'). How are they killed? What happens to their bodies after death?

Please can you provide figures since 1 January 2024 and 1 January 2025 (to date) separately."

Our response to your request is as follows: I have enclosed copies of the information that is being released to you.

Please quote the reference number 4598981 in any future communications.

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