A decision to ban the hunting of four duck species in Ireland has drawn a backlash from game clubs who believe it to be ideologically driven and based on poor data.
The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), representing about 25,500 hunters, rebuked the Green Party’s Minister of State for Heritage Malcolm Noonan who they believe railroaded the policy through.
“This is not a significant step forward for the protection of birds; rather it is a retrograde step enacted by someone with an animal rights agenda,” it said.
Last week, on the eve of the hunting season, Mr Noonan announced his decision to remove the scaup, goldeneye, pochard and pintail from the open seasons order (OSO) which governs the sport.
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It is only the second time in 30 years such a move has been taken and Mr Noonan has initiated further work with the possible outcome of blocking other species, a move BirdWatch Ireland has backed.
However, according to the NARGC, the data used to inform the policy is incomplete while, it says, the bird populations are not under any threat given their numbers in other European countries.
It said there is no evidence hunting is a factor in the decline of OSO-listed species, but that most issues arise around breeding grounds elsewhere.
“We can only take from the above that the decision to remove the four species is based on ideology rather than a complete picture of the status of these species,” it claimed in a circular issued in response to what it said were claims set out by Mr Noonan to Green Party members.
The organisation, which insists it is heavily involved in habitat creation and management in order for species to prosper, is also vexed by what it sees as its omission from active policy formation.
With over 1,000 clubs around the country, the umbrella body said its members could have helped compile data on species population, both from active counting on the ground and from “bag returns”, a system of monitoring the number and species of birds shot.
“People automatically think these are the guys that go out shooting every day and hunting birds and hunting animals. That is the least amount of what we do as an association,” said NARGC chair John Butler.
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Rather, he said, its members work closely with farmers to protect crops, develop duck ponds and create and maintain habitats suitable for game birds, all of which supports other forms of wildlife.
“It has much more greater meaning than a sport to the people that are involved in it. It’s our heritage, it’s our culture, it’s our way of life.
“Hunters are extremely disappointed at the manner in which the decision was arrived at.”
Having presented information to National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) officials earlier this year, the NARGC feels ignored and has indicated it may not easily co-operate on future policy.
The Department of Housing, under whose authority the NPWS sits, declined to comment.
The NARGC’s position appears to put them on a crash course with Birdwatch Ireland which, rather than four, had agitated for the removal of six duck species and equally criticised Mr Noonan for a policy it sees as falling short.
“No rationale has been provided as to why [the shoveler and golden plover species] remain on the list. The information provided announcing the decision is inadequate and lacking detail,” it said following last week’s decision.
Although listing the most severe threat to water birds as coming from from habitat loss and degradation, pollution, disturbance and climate change, it said “every pressure and threat must be addressed considering the dire conservation status of many of the species that are huntable in Ireland”.
