Donal Hickey: The havoc of burning Ireland's hillsides

Regulations are blatantly flouted in many parts of the country where burning continues into April and May

Given the poor state of upland habitats, smoke emissions, water pollution and greenhouse gases, the Irish Wildlife Trust said burning is exactly the wrong thing to do. File Picture: Sam Boal/Rollingnews.ie

Smoke is already rising from the hillsides in familiar territory. The annual burning season is well underway, with farmers taking advantage of earlier-than-usual dry conditions in January.

And environmental groups such as the Irish Wildlife Trust are already voicing concerns, with memories of large-scale and out-of-control gorse fires still fresh from last year. It’s against the wildlife laws to burn vegetation between March 1 and August 31. But this regulation is blatantly flouted in many parts of the country where burning continues into April and May, which couldn’t happen at a worse time for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife.