The Irish Farmers' Association yesterday said it was opposed to plans to reintroduce the white-tailed or sea eagle to the wild in the Killarney National Park, Co Kerry, fearing lambs would be carried off by the giant birds.
The white-tailed eagle, along with his smaller relative the golden eagle, became extinct in the park and elsewhere in the country around 100 years ago.
The eagle project is one of a number of reintroductions being considered to increase bio-diversity in the Killarney National Park. The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), along with the Golden Eagle Trust and conservationists including wildlife film-maker James Pembroke, are part of the steering group behind the reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle.
NPWS regional manager, Eamonn Meskell, said the group had studied the successful reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle on the Isle of Mull in western Scotland.
Wildlife officers and Mr Pembroke have already been to Norway to film the eagle in the wild and the group will consult with the Norwegians later this year about importing young eagles in the summer of 2007.
However, the chairman of the IFA in Kerry, John Stack, said yesterday that farmers have major concerns.
The white-tailed eagle was a huge bird, with a wingspan of up to 2.4 metres, who was "not going to hang around a few acres in the Killarney National Park," Mr Stack said.
The reintroduction raised the prospect of more land in Kerry being designated to protect the eagle.
"Our concerns are based on what has happened to date with the NPWS and the hen harrier," he said, referring to a bitter battle between farmers and conservationists in north Kerry.
Hundreds of townlands are designated special areas of conservation because of the harrier.
"Kerry is already designated out of existence. There is very little room for commercial farming in the county," Mr Stack said. It had also been confirmed to the IFA that these eagles, although birds of carrion, were capable of lifting live lambs, he said.
Even if the birds relied solely on feeding off dead animals, that raised concerns about the spread of disease, Mr Stack added.