There’s nothing new about the controversy over the issue of ravens in Orkney.

In 1943, George Arthur was the RSPB representative in the islands and he published his views in The Orkney Herald, 8th December, on the raven.

He said:

” Quite often one hears in Orkney of hawks attacking chickens, hens etc. As human beings, we wage war on the complete species. There is something fundamentally wrong in this.”

George Arthur then turned his attention to ravens.

“The food of the raven is about ninety per cent carrion. He gets blamed for many things which have been proved to be wrong.”

On observing a dying sheep he commented:

“Blackbacks and hoodies were there attacking the sheep before death, but the raven only arrived after the sheep was well dead. There are many things done for which the raven gets the blame. Personally, I think he is a reasonably harmless scavenger, a most interesting bird to boot.

“From a scientific viewpoint the raven’s food is carrion of all kinds, especially placenta of ewes, rabbits, rats, stoats, hedgehogs, water rats, field mice, occasionally eggs of other birds, fish heads etc., and vegetable matter. On the whole, a very useful bird.”

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