Sir, – Sean Byrne (Letters, October 31st) has correctly drawn attention to the need to manage Bull Island.
It is amongst the capital’s best places for fresh-air exercise and its significance as a nature sanctuary is recognised in the protective designations including the Special Amenity Area Order and the Dublin Bay biosphere reserve.
Biosphere reserves are places where nature and people connect. They have a finite carrying capacity and require resource management. Vulnerable habitats at Bull Island are now being damaged and the problem is caused by careless dog owners. Visits to Bull Island are marred by the substantial number of dogs roaming uncontrolled. They chase away the shore birds feeding along the tide line and destroy the nests in the sand dunes.
The hares have been killed off by marauding dogs. Dog droppings are derived from pet food made up with meat. They carry pathogens and viruses that damage the protected food chain at Bull Island.
Shooting the breeze with trailblazer chemists
Kamala Harris is a descendant of an Irish slave owner in Jamaica
Tactical analysis: Clare got their numbers right, but it’s hard to measure sheer magic
Artist and shepherd Orla Barry: ‘Breeding animals is like making an artwork. You’re putting certain animals together’
Motorcars must be controlled too. They penetrate the protected area and the presence of two bridges doubles that threat. There is sand compaction and plant erosion. The loss of the hares shows us that the car traffic, and the dog owners using them, has grown beyond the carrying capacity of the place.
Uncontrolled access to Bull Island by dog owners in motorcars has to be controlled to protect the habitat at Bull Island. The current management regime has failed.
– Yours, etc,
CELINE REILLY,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.