Since 1996, Skellig Michael, one of the two Skellig Islands off the coast of Ireland, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its cultural significance and beautiful environment. However, this island has been used as a filming location for the latest Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is where one of the characters in the film resides.This island is home to more than just a fictional character though. The island hosts long term residents of many species: Atlantic Puffins, Black-legged Kittiwakes, European Storm-petrels, and Manx Shearwaters..It is home to the second largest colony of gannets in the world (reaching numbers of about 27,000 pairs of gannets) and is the place they all depend on in order to live and reproduce.

The crew of the film spent two periods filming on the island, with one particular visit leaving a wake of death. It has been stated that in July of 2014, the crew spent two weeks on the island during the breeding season. Due to the lack of information on the number of seabirds on the island, “Long-term effects on the island’s breeding bird populations remain unknown, but there are disturbing reports that during filming, several hundred Black-legged Kittiwake chicks were blown by a helicopter from their cliff-ledge nests into the sea, where they drowned.” This horrifying news has shocked many organizations in Ireland that wanted to take part in a consultation prior to allowing the crew on the island, but granting the filming on the island occurred without there being a chance for organizations to have their say.

Recently, although it has not been confirmed by Walt Disney Pictures or Lucasfilm, it has been claimed that filming for the other Star Wars movies will not occur on Skellig Michael. One source stated, “Filming at Skellig Michael was just too complicated for environmental reasons,” while adding that, “Migrating birds have more power than any corporation over that isle.”

The birds should have more power on Skellig Michael than any corporation! They spend their lives on this island; and it is their home. It is where they raise their young.

Entertainment at the expense of animals comes in many different forms. This is yet another example of how entertainment can unnecessarily and carelessly ruin the lives of animals. We hope that the filmmakers remain off Skellig Michael for the filming of any future films and that proper consultation will be conducted, should filming on the island be considered ever again!

For more information about Skellig Michael, the birds that inhabit the island and the intruders from Star Wars, read on here and here