FARMERS in Dorset are now able to apply for licences to cull protected ravens following claims that they are causing “major problems” for farmers.

The county is one of five in England where licences have been issued by the environment secretary in a bid to control the birds.

Ravens have caused issues for farmers across the county brutally killing dozens of lambs by pecking out their eyes and tongues.

Dorset farmers have complained of attacks by the birds with some losing hundreds of animals every year.

John Wood, who farms near Wimborne said he had seen about a dozen attacks in recent years.

“There are a number of farmers I know in Dorset who have had major problems with ravens,” he said. “While it’s not been quite as bad here, there have been a number of attacks over the years.

“Ravens take the tongues and eyes from sheep – I must have seen about a dozen lambs killed in this way over the last few years.

“The licences will be a big help to farmers, particularly those who have been having major problems.

“I see ravens as a pest, culling them is much the same as controlling foxes.”

A Defra spokesman said that the that licences were only issued as “a last resort".

“Ravens can attack lambs and adult sheep and occasionally this can be serious, with deaths and serious injuries,” they said.

“If other measures fail to resolve a predation problem then Natural England will issue licences to farmers to control the ravens attacking the sheep."

Licences are in place in Derbyshire, Lancashire and Berkshire while they have also been issued in Dorset and Wiltshire.

“These licences were issued due to the extreme negative impact caused to sheep and lambs on farms,” the spokesman added.

“They are only issued as a last resort after the landowner has exhausted all other options to protect livestock.”

However, RSPB global conservation director, Martin Harper, said that there was a “lack of transparency” in the process.

“In Dorset towards the end of the 19th century the species was almost extinct but throughout the 1990s, the population, as elsewhere, began to recover," he said.

“Naturally, many would celebrate such a recovery of a once scarce bird and delight in the company of such a legendary and intelligent creature.

“However, ravens are in part, predatory, or rather, they are great opportunists with a hugely catholic diet and will indeed, on occasion, kill lambs.

“This can be a distressing situation and the RSPB recognise that in some cases it may be necessary to issue licences to farmers to kill ravens for livestock protection."