CROFTERS HAVE warned that agricultural activity on the coastal plains of North Uist – known as 'machair' – will disappear within 10 years unless action is taken to control the growing number of barnacle geese.

Crofters in the islands have fought a long battle to keep control of the resident greylag geese population, but now there is evidence that barnacle geese – which cause even more damage to grazing land – are also growing in number and becoming more of a menace.

And there is a further warning that if crofters are indeed forced to give up on activity, it would have a profound effect on the nearby Balranald Bird Reserve, one of the top nature reserves in the UK, which relies on the working practices of crofting to maintain bio-diversity.

Local councillor Uisdean Robertson said: "The crofters in North Uist I've spoken to have made it quite clear that unless the barnacle goose problem is dealt with, crofting on the machair will be finished within 10 years. It's taken generations of crofters managing the machair in an environmentally-sustainable way to get it to its current state of rich biodiversity."

Mr Robertson said that, five years ago, an estimated 1000 barnacle geese would temporarily visit North Uist on their migratory travels. But that number is now up to 5000 and staying for longer periods. This is on top of an estimated 10,000 greylag geese across the Uists.

"Greylag are bad enough,” said Mr Robertson, “but the problem with barnacle geese is that they graze in big groups; they operate like platoons. They just destroy the land."

Iain MacDonald, a crofter in the village of Baleshare who rears 400 sheep and 20 cattle, said: "It really is getting to the stage where everyone is just looking at packing it in. Grazings are being contaminated and there’s no point in trying to keep them clean for lambing or whatever. They (barnacle geese) only used to visit here for a short period in the winter, but the last couple of years they’ve been staying longer.”

The Balranald Bird Reserve is run by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and attracts thousands of visitors to Uist an annual basis.

RSPB North of Scotland commmunications officer Stuart Benn said: "If the crofters are correct in saying crofting will disappear in 10 years, then it would be absolutely massive for the wildlife there and the reserve.

“The machairs of Uists are renowned for their wildlife. You have species like corncrake and the great yellow bumblebee found there, which are very rare elsewhere, and that's absolutely to do with the working practices of crofting."