Burnin’ down the grouse to make way for fresh growth in the country

JUST like Christmas, it happens annually with calendar certainty. From around St Patrick’s Day until well into April, the uplands are ablaze in parts of the west and southwest. 

It’s the gorse-burning season when hill farmers burn off vegetation to allow for fresh growth, even if the wildlife laws ban burning between March 1 and August 31.

The law is being flouted, people’s homes are put at risk, fire brigades are stretched to capacity and wildlife habitat is being destroyed at a delicate time for nature.