Eagle Reintroduction Wales (ERW) - Ailgyflwyno’r Eryr Cymru (AEC)
Eagle Reintroduction Wales (ERW) was founded in 2016 by Dr Sophie-Lee Williams at Cardiff University, in partnership with the Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation and Wildlife Trust Wales, as part of her PhD research. The project was supported through a KESS II scholarship funded by the Welsh Government (2017–2021) and has since evolved into a long-term, science-led conservation initiative. ERW is now being established as an independent Welsh charity to lead the continued development of evidence, partnerships and engagement required to restore eagles to Wales.
Eagles have been extinct as a breeding species for over 150 years and have no chance of naturally colonising Wales on their own accord in the next 25-50 years. While the restoration of both species is important to Wales, our efforts, funding and resources will focus on restoring the White-tailed Eagle prior to any efforts to return Golden Eagles to Wales.
A science-led and highly regulated process
Reintroduction programmes in the UK are not an easy or quick process. Reintroduction programmes are usually a strict, highly regulated licensing process. In the case of restoring eagles to Wales, the statutory conservation organisation in charge of issuing licences is Natural Resources Wales (NRW). These licensing applications include comprehensive assessments and information about:
The biological feasibility - history, conservation status, population distribution, diet, habitat, genetics, source population.
The environmental feasibility - release location, suitable habitat, available nest sites & prey availability.
The ecological feasibility - positive ecological impacts, negative ecological impacts, and regional habitats regulations assessments (HRA).
The social feasibility - positive socio-economic and negative socio-economic impacts, public opinion survey, and local consultations with key communities and interest groups.
Project practicalities - release site, release and translocation strategy, risk assessments & partnerships.
Our current focus
Wales supports an abundance of suitable habitat for both White-tailed and Golden Eagles. Research into the environmental and ecological feasibility of Golden Eagle restoration is ongoing and will continue to be developed as part of ERW’s longer-term vision.
The White-tailed Eagle (Eryr y môr) programme has now been fully developed, with comprehensive feasibility assessments, risk analyses and stakeholder engagement undertaken. A licence application has been submitted to Natural Resources Wales (NRW), and the programme is delivery-ready, subject to statutory approvals and final licence determination.
Current work is focused on responding to regulatory feedback, progressing social feasibility assessments, and finalising project practicalities to ensure that the programme is robust, responsible and capable of being delivered to the highest conservation standards once consent is granted.
