Sir, - While fully endorsing John Tierney's proposal for a Golden Eagle description booklet to be sent to all holders of hunting weapons (July 17th), I would go further and propose that information in such a booklet be also made available at all tourist offices so that hunters visiting from abroad are made aware of all of Ireland's protected species and cannot claim ignorance. Such information should be freely available and highly visible - negligent hunters will not buy such information, but cannot help but notice it as a poster on the wall.
However, I believe one of the biggest obstacles to prospects for Golden Eagles may be that in Ireland one does not have to be a de facto member of a hunting club to buy a hunting weapon - simply owning some agricultural land is enough to secure a license to buy and use a hunting weapon. So Irish landowners who are negligent or ignorant about issues of conservation and species protection, and regrettably many are, can acquire hunting weapons quite easily.
Not so in Scandinavia, where conservation of protected species is well established and monitored - it is simply not that easy to buy a hunting weapon. One must first be a member of an established hunting club before it is possible to buy a hunting weapon - no club membership, no gun. Those hunting clubs are well-informed about conservation and are obliged to record what and how much has been hunted, and submit those figures annually to the Ministry for the Environment. Regrettably, there is no such level of accountability or control in Ireland.
I believe the protection of the Golden Eagles would be greatly enhanced by adopting such strict measures. - Yours, etc.,
Niall O'Donoghue, Narva, Finland.