[LINK] "Tourists are stealing St Kilda"

[rfmcdonald]

The Scotsman's John Ross reports that the abandoned Scottish island of St. Kilda is being threatened by tourists taking souvenirs.

Among the mementoes being pocketed are stones from ancient structures and fleece shed by the islands' primitive Soay sheep, depriving Europe's most important seabird colony of their natural nesting material.

Ian McNee, the trust's seasonal ranger, said: "People take whatever they can get their hands on. There are a lot of old stone structures, stone was the main building material here and people like to take little bits from a wall.

"Most of the walls date from the early 1800s and some are even earlier than that.

"It's always been a bit of a concern, but with the increase in visitors, people taking just a little bit ends up as quite a lot."

Mr McNee talks to visitors when they arrive about the importance of not taking anything away from the island.

He said: "It's just 1 per cent of people, but with the enormous rise in visitors even 1 per cent is too much. It's irresponsible."

He added: "People take things they assume won't be too important, but they can be. It's a very primitive sheep here and it moults – and people take the wool from the ground, which is valuable for the nesting birds. It's all part of the system."