Andrew Connon, president of the National Farmers’ Union Scotland, said: “Any Exmoor release must learn from Scottish experience and ensure that farmers are supported within their existing farm systems to embed strong safeguards for livestock from the outset.”
Lamb predation is being closely monitored in Scotland, external and farmers are being given some financial help in managing and mitigating the risks to their flocks.
The extent to which white-tailed eagles are killing lambs, or whether they are mostly taking carcasses of already dead animals, remains a source of disagreement between many farmers and conservationists.
A survey of farmers and land managers in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Durham published this month by the NFU found 85% of respondents were against a proposed reintroduction.
A spokeswoman for the National Sheep Association (NSA) said the organisation had “concerns when new white-tailed sea eagle releases are discussed”.
It has called for a full impact assessment of white-tailed eagle reintroductions “taking into account farm viability and mental health” before more releases take place.
NSA chairman Peter Delbridge, a sixth-generation farmer on Exmoor, told the BBC: “We don’t want to reach the situation where the genie is out of the bottle and we’re experiencing losses but because they are a protected bird we won’t be able to deal with it ourselves.”
Natural England, the government’s wildlife licensing authority, said it would “closely monitor” how the reintroduction on Exmoor is implemented.
Matthew Heard, Natural England’s national delivery director, said the licence it has approved “supports a carefully planned reintroduction, grounded in strong evidence and built on collaboration with local communities and land managers”.
He added: “This moment has been a long time in the planning and shows what can be achieved when ambitious partnerships, good science and positive engagement come together.”