“Starvation is not a good death and it’s the suffering that concerns us,” Mr Buckland told BBC Alba’s Eòrpa programme. “The problem is the lack of grazing in winter and the lack of control of the population. “The Soay sheep on St Kilda are considered wild animals due to their unique history of adapting to life without management for many generations,” a government spokesperson said. About 100 were moved from the small island of Soay to Hirta after St Kilda’s last permanent residents departed in 1930, and the University of Edinburgh’s long-running St Kilda Soay Sheep Project now estimates more than 1800 animals roam the island. This would provide adequate grazing in winter for the animals left on the island.”