Donal Hickey: Do we need a wildlife crime unit to help protect our magnificent birds and animals?

Much more time, attention and resources must be dedicated to conservation, while stronger enforcement and wildlife legislation are also needed to protect our natural heritage

A white-tailed eagle in Killarney. Birds of prey are especially vulnerable — the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) says a large amount of wildlife crime is unreported. But such crime is on the rise. Picture: Valerie O’Sullivan 

In one of the rare enough cases for Wildlife Act offences, a County Laois farmer was fined a total of €6,000 for damaging birds’ nests and their eggs and also damaging vegetation during the nesting season. Around 1,200 metres of hedgerow, including some mature trees, were torn up to improve land for agricultural purposes. The nests of five different farmland birds were destroyed and the eggs smashed or abandoned.

Felled mature hardwood trees including oak, ash, Whithorn, holly and crab apple were destroyed along with 1,200m of hedgerow vegetation at Ballickmoyler, Co Laois, in May 2021. Picture: National Parks & Wildlife Service