Seabird-saving detection dog Reid wins prestigious award for groundbreaking conservation work

Reid the springer sniffs out invasive rodents that pose a catastrophic threat to seabird colonies in the Scottish Islands

A seabird-saving detection dog is set to be given a prestigious award for his part in groundbreaking conservation work.

Reid is a six-year-old springer who works with his handler, Rachel Cripps, sniffs out invasive rodents that pose a catastrophic threat to seabird colonies in the Scottish Islands.

His role in safeguarding endangered seabirds such as Atlantic puffins, great skuas and Leach's storm petrels, has earned him the Animal of the Year award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at the BAFTA, London.

In 2021, NatureScot looked at 11 species of seabirds and found numbers of breeding seabirds in Scotland have almost halved since the 1980s. Reid’s work focuses on protecting 38 seabird islands around Scotland, including Bass Rock – home to the largest colony of breeding Northern Gannets in the world, and St Kilda – with the largest colony of Puffins in the UK.

Rats pose a major threat to these birds, potentially decimating seabird populations as they hunt for eggs, chicks, and sometimes even adult birds.

“Rats are hugely problematic. If one pregnant female rat reaches an island, then the population could explode – in fact, within eight months there could be as many as 300 rats. Surprisingly, rats can also swim between islands – they’re actually very good swimmers that can swim for about two kilometres”, Rachel said.

“Reid helps us locate any rodents fast, as he searches for any sign of them – be it their scent, nests or droppings. He doesn’t just work on the islands either, he also searches high-risk cargo being transported to islands such as animal feed or bedding to ensure that there are no stowaways.”

Rachel took Reid on following her first detection dog, Max, who was a pyrotechnic detection dog that had been left traumatised when a firecracker was thrown at him at a football stadium. Instead of being made redundant, Max was re-trained to detect red squirrels, which helped a programme monitoring squirrel pox and how far the disease had spread into a woodland reserve. This sparked Rachel's love for handling conservation detection dogs and Reid then followed in Max's footprints.

She continued to explore ways of using detection dogs for conservation purposes, and now Reid has expanded his skill set to sniff out invasive rodents.

In addition to the practical detection work, Reid also goes into schools as part of their outreach work. While there, the children get to meet Reid and play a game where they race to find rats in cargo. The outreach work has been well received so far, and people have begun to understand how they can help and the positive impact they can have on wildlife by being vigilant.

On winning the award, Rachel said: “I’m so proud of Reid. He works so hard and often has to endure difficult boat journeys. This is such a big achievement, and I really hope it goes to show the potential for how dogs can play a vital role in conservation.”

Matt Collis, IFAW said: “We’ve seen canines working as therapy dogs, sniffer dogs, and working with them in the field to detect poachers and wounded wildlife. But Reid is doing something different, utilising a preventative approach to protect seabirds on the Scottish Isles. Reid is a remarkable dog, and I’m thrilled to see him receive the IFAW Animal of the Year Award.”

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