Birds To Our Hickey: Need And Help Unit Protect Crime Magnificent Wildlife Do Donal We A Animals?

Thu, 16 Jun, 2022 - 02:00

Donal Hickey

In one of the rare enough cases for Wildlife Act offences, a County Laois farmer was fined a total of €6,000 for damaging birds’ nests and their eggs and also damaging vegetation during the nesting season. Around 1,200 metres of hedgerow, including some mature trees, were torn up to improve land for agricultural purposes. The nests of five different farmland birds were destroyed and the eggs smashed or abandoned.

Felled mature hardwood trees including oak, ash, Whithorn, holly and crab apple were destroyed along with 1,200m of hedgerow vegetation at Ballickmoyler, Co Laois, in May 2021. Picture: National Parks & Wildlife Service

A large amount of wildlife crime — acknowledged to be a ‘widespread issue’ by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) — in Ireland is unreported. But such crime is on the rise.

As wildlife habitats are often in remote areas, it can be difficult to catch offenders in the act. Birds of prey are especially vulnerable and we’ve had numerous incidents of eagles and buzzards being shot, or poisoned. At the same time, even the Government accepts that we have a biodiversity crisis, with many species in serious decline, or extinction-threatened.

While many people’s attitudes to wildlife are changing for the better, a sizeable number continues to see some of these creatures as a threat or, at best, a nuisance. Scare-mongering also fuel fears, which can lead to animal persecution.

21 Norwegian-born white-tailed eagle chicks were released into the wild at the four Munster sites — on the Shannon Estuary, Lough Derg, Waterford and in Killarney National Park (pictured). Picture: Valerie O'Sullivan

When eagles were being reintroduced to Killarney National Park, more than a decade ago, rumours were put out that these magnificent birds would kill lambs and might even attack babies. Such claims have since proved to be unfounded. We’re told eagles feed on the carcasses of dead sheep and lambs rather than killing them. Unfortunately, however, eagles have been killed by people in the years since.

National Wildlife Crime Unit (in Britain)

The National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU), in Scotland, could be an invaluable model for a similar body in Ireland, according to UCC’s Green Campus sub-committee. Much more time, attention and resources must be dedicated to conservation, while stronger enforcement and wildlife legislation are also needed to protect our natural heritage, says Green Campus. Problems here are similar in relation to conservation and wildlife crime, not to mention a lack of resources to deal with issues. But, some progress has been made in getting better cooperation between the NPWS and the gardaí. Local communities also have a key role.

The NPWS says more resources and personnel are being provided to support this work. Some 110 staff are working across all regions to address wildlife crime, including district conservation officers and conservation rangers. Eighty-six conservation rangers are stationed across the country and it is intended to further increase ranger numbers to 120. The NPWS says 21 prosecutions successfully closed last year; 15 more have been successfully closed to date in 2022 and a further 48 are on hand at present.

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