Gardaí are investigating a suspected case of badger baiting in Co Limerick.
Detectives in Newcastle West and the National Parks and Wildlife Service were alerted to the incident which is contrary to the Wildlife Act, 1976, at a rural location in the vicinity of Croagh village at about 4pm on Wednesday.
Gardaí arrived at the scene and found two large holes which had been dug in the ground.
“This is believed to be a practice known as badger baiting – when badgers, which are a protected species in Ireland, are dug out of their sets and captured by people to be used to fight with dogs,” said a Garda spokeswoman.
‘Just bring it back to the show’: Robert De Niro is playing a US president in Zero Day, but Netflix don’t want any Trump questions
Five days in San Sebastián and Bilbao: Both Basque cities are beautiful but one became my favourite
Irishwoman in El Salvador: I’m 60 and moved halfway around the world. Everything is different
Why has much of Ireland had no sun for 10 days now? The jet stream is to blame
“This is a harmful and serious offence under the Wildlife Act. Gardaí are appealing for anyone with any information regarding this incident to come forward.”
In particular, detectives wish to speak with anyone that was in the Croagh village area or the wider Adare and Rathkeale areas during 1pm and 4pm and who may have seen anything which resembled this or saw anything which may have drawn their attention.
Any road users who may have video camera footage (including dash-cam) from this area at this time, are asked to make it available to gardaí.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Newcastle West Garda station on 069 20650, the Garda confidential line 1800 666 111 or any Garda station.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here
