Jarveys face park ban in row over dung
The ban, imposed by the national park authorities, will come into effect from June 8 unless the jarveys fit their traps and carriages with equine sanitary devices — also known as dung catchers and horse nappies.
Horse dung has become a major nuisance on walkways in areas of the park which are visited by hundreds of thousands of people each year.
The public clamour for action on the problem, both in Killarney town and the park, has increased in recent times, with the park authorities now taking the lead in tackling it head-on.
However, the jarveys claim there is no legal basis for forcing them to use the “dung catchers” and that the park authorities want to bulldoze their way through with no law to back them.
Killarney Jarvey Association chairman Pat O’Sullivan yesterday argued there was no bylaw in the national park to make it obligatory to use the devices.
He felt mechanical sweepers should be used instead to clean up the dung, as had been done in the past.
Mr O’Sullivan further claimed dung catchers were dangerous and if they “rubbed off a horse’s behind” they could force the animal to “take off”.
Asked what the jarveys would do to oppose the measures, he replied: “We will go down a few avenues and see what the options are.”
Killarney National Park is managed by the Department of the Environment through the National Park and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which described the soiling of roads in the park as “simply unacceptable”.
A department spokesman said up to 80 jarveys plied their trade under licence from the NPWS across a network of some 15km of roads in the park.
“These roads are maintained and cleaned by the NPWS at taxpayers’ expense. While jarveys also operate in the town of Killarney, presently, these new rules will not apply outside the National Park,” the department said.
The presence of untreated dung in the park has long been a concern from the point of view of aesthetic, environmental, tourism and health and safety grounds, according to the department statement.
“The park is a premier tourist site for Kerry and while the jarveys can add to the visitor experience, the soiling of roads in the park is simply unacceptable.”
The department said it engaged in a lengthy consultation process with the jarveys over a 10-month period to consider how best to deal with the issue and also carried out trials with both a mechanical sweeper and with dung catchers.
It said the preferred option of dung catchers was also the subject of tests by a leading British-based equine expert as well as a leading veterinary consultant.
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