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CONSERVATION RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE

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Jamie Gundry’s dramatic image of a white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) on
the cover of this book reflects the twisting changes in fortune experienced by
this species, with a revival that can be attributed to a successful interplay of
science, policy and practice. White-tailed eagles were historically much more
widely distributed than they are today (Yalden, 2007), once breeding across
much of Europe, but by the early twentieth century the species was extinct
across much of western and southern Europe. The main cause of its decline
was persecution by farmers and shepherds, who considered the eagles a threat
to their livestock, but, along with other raptors, white-tailed eagles were also
seriously affected by DDT in the 1960s and 1970s, which had disastrous effects
on the breeding success of remaining populations. However, over the past four
decades the species has seen a remarkable reversal in its fortunes. Changes in
public attitude and policy have resulted in several reintroductions of the
species, returning breeding populations to Scotland and Ireland (Evans et al.,
2009; O’Rourke, 2014), and a recent licence has been approved for a release on
the Isle of Wight in southern England. White-tailed eagles also recently started
nesting in the Oostvaardersplassen, part of the Netherlands that just over 50
years ago was reclaimed polder destined for industrial development, but has

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since become the most influential example of the concept of rewilding. The
recovery of this species has required a significant shift in perception among
a diverse range of stakeholders; this has resulted in positive changes in both
policy and practice, with bans on the use of organophosphate pesticides and
the re-setting of attitudes from those that allowed persecution, to create
a context which allowed populations to be reintroduced. The spectacle of
this wonderful species in locations where it was once absent is a tribute to
the successful linking of science and policy, but elsewhere these links are
often problematic: this book sets out to examine the range of challenges and
successes.

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Publisher

United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press., 2020

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Language

English

ISBN/ISSN

978-1-108-71458-7

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NONE

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Specific Detail Info

374 Pages

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