Sir, – As a farmer I was embarrassed although not surprised to read your report on the decline of our farmland bird population (Home News, September 1st).
I do not disagree with the findings – on the contrary I can see firsthand the difficulties between farming and wildlife conservation and the resultant decline. Blaming the farmers, while self-satisfying, isn’t going to solve the problem. There is a huge lack of awareness by many farmers of the importance of biodiversity and retaining the valuable habitats on farmland.
At present the destruction of hedgerows and wetlands continues unchecked and there seems to be a “run ” on this at the moment as upcoming habitat legislation looms on the horizon. No doubt this will be watered down by the farmer lobby groups, as before, and the destruction will continue.
I find it a bit rich that Brazilian farmers are condemned for destroying the rainforests while we Irish farmers are doing the same thing here (albeit in a less dramatic fashion). The consumers of our food products need to send a signal to the food processors (and therefore the farmers) that habitat destruction will not be tolerated; and they should look for food from biodiversity-friendly farms.
Both Simon Coveney and Phil Hogan and their respective departments have the power to play their part in stopping the damage to our wildlife and our landscape heritage. Future farmland bird reports will decide their legacy on the issue (good or bad).
The IFA could do better than blaming Birdwatch Ireland; encouraging its members to see conservation as something positive rather than financially curtailing would help enormously.
I, for one, (and I’m sure many other farmers) am prepared to play my part, but the leadership required from the relevant parties will have to be forthcoming. – Yours, etc,