Scotland’s environment agency has found no sign of missing Shetland pony foals during a routine inspection of eagles’ nests on South Uist.
Farmer Donald John Cameron claimed his foals had been snatched by the birds of prey, which he said had been circling the animals before their disappearance between May and July this year.
NatureScot said it looked into the concerns and found no lamb or foal remains in the two sea eagle nests closest to the crofter’s property.
However Mr Cameron said the findings were inconclusive because other nearby nests had not been examined.
Sea eagles, also known as white-tailed eagles, are known to attack livestock and farmers have claimed to have seen them carrying lambs away.
However, the National Centre for Birds of Prey previously said it was “most unlikely” that sea eagles would be capable of flying off with a foal.
Mr Cameron’s ponies are part of his Long Island Retreats tourism business.
The NatureScot inspections on South Uist are part of a wider annual study designed to support farmers whose livestock are endangered by sea eagles.
NatureScot told the BBC it had looked at the two nests closest to the area where the foals were reported missing and said they “do not contain any foal or lamb bones”.
Mr Cameron said there were several other nests within three or four miles which had not been inspected and called on NatureScot to expand its survey.
“People call them sea eagles, but they are white tales eagles and they’ll predate on anything,” he told BBC Scotland News.
“I would like the data to be independently collected with the landowner involved and for the other crofters to be included as well.”
Bird conservation charity RSBP Scotland welcomed NatureScot’s investigation, adding: “It aligns with previous research on white-tailed eagle diets in Scotland, with their natural prey overwhelmingly consisting of small birds, mammals and fish.
“We continue to support an evidence-led approach to their management in Scotland.”