Driving out invasive species on islands has high success rate and big benefits – study

New research finds that eradicating non-native rats, cats, rabbits and goats is 88% effective in restoring biodiversity

Eradicating rats, goats and other invasive animals from islands is one of the most effective tools for protecting wildlife, resulting in dramatic transformations to degraded archipelagos and atolls, according to a new study.

From the dodo to Daudin's giant tortoise, island species have been disproportionately affected by extinctions, often caused by the arrival of alien species brought by colonisers that killed wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.