Governments dropping of plans to set up a wildlife crime unit

I am shocked but not surprised to learn that the government has dropped plans to establish a dedicated Wildlife Crime Unit that would have cracked down on the multiple threats to our wildlife and the natural environment.

Two years ago it promised that this essential new entity would be set up following a spate of wildfires that destroyed hedgerows and nesting bird habitats and the poisoning and shooting of rare birds.

Animal welfare and wildlife protection groups had welcomed the commitment, hoping that the unit would effectively tackle these challenges, plus an upsurge in badger baiting and illegal hare hunting across the country.

What a slap in the face to all of us who expected action at last to address criminal threats to our already imperiled biodiversity.

But then, should we expect anything more from a government that despite its light shade of

Green (that’s fading by the day) is also likely to grant a license to coursing clubs shortly to commence another season of what, in many other jurisdictions, including Northern Ireland, would be designated ‘wildlife crime’?

The license will permit the capture of thousands of hares, even in areas where stocks have deceased drastically.

These supposedly protected animals will be held in captivity for weeks prior to coursing. Then they’ll be subjected to an ordeal that should have been banned decades ago but continues, thanks to vote-conscious politicians who put electoral interest before the wellbeing or conservationist status of the Irish Hare. Coursing aside, this unique sub-species of the Mountain Hare that is native to Ireland has been in decline for the past half century due to habitat loss.

The lack of a specialist unit to address wildlife crime is exacerbated by the poor funding of the understaffed wildlife service, which receives a derisory fraction of the €19.2 million the government allocates each year to the bloodstock sector.

In other words our political masters are more anxious to keep horses and dogs running around in circles than to safeguard what remains of our treasured biodiversity.

Someday, maybe, we’ll get a government that will stand up for nature. Then, our persecuted wild creatures could live out their humble lives in peace, free from predatory humans and cruelty dressed up as ‘sport’.

Thanking you,

John Fitzgerald, Callan, Co. Kilkenny.