Letter in Irish Daily Mail (Nov. 1st)

Our Wildlife Woes

The World Wildlife Fund’s report on the decline in global wildlife populations is an out-and-out shocker.. Humans appear hell-bent on destroying our natural environment, the wonderful species we share this planet with, and ultimately ourselves.

Ireland is not exempt from this reckless behavior and the craven political inaction that threatens wildlife. The curlew is now on the brink of extinction in Ireland. It wasn't until 2012, when its numbers had plummeted by up to 96%, that a long overdue ban on curlew shooting was finally put in place.

The hen harrier has declined by a devastating 50% in numbers over the past forty years, and yet a conservation plan proposed by Heritage Minister Josepha Madigan would, if fully implemented, push it closer to extinction, forcing the endangered bird to breed in completely unsuitable parts of the countryside.

And then there is the shameful treatment of our iconic Irish Hare, a sub-species of the Mountain Hare that provides a living link with the Ice Age of 10,000 years ago. It has been in decline for decades due mainly to loss of habitat resulting from urbanization, and modern farm practices that create vast mono-cultural tracts of grass and cereals.

Habitat loss for the Irish Hare is exacerbated by the activities of more than seventy coursing clubs, and widespread poaching. Despite being aware of its fragile conservation status, successive governments have shamefully seen fit to license the capture of up to 10,000 hares each year for use as live bait.

So, while polar bears sit forlornly on shrinking ice floes, elephants and rhinos are shot for their tusks and ivory, and lions, tigers, monkeys, bears and giraffes are pointlessly blasted to death by trophy hunters, we have created our own little hell for wildlife in Ireland.

We could do our bit (however small) for the magnificent creatures with which share this planet by at least outlawing blood sports and offering effective protection to all endangered species on this island.

John Fitzgerald

Callan, Co. Kilkenny