Burning off scrub must be regulated

Very soon, the hills in parts of the south and west will be ablaze, writes Donal Hickey

Fire brigades will rush to and fro and some people will be trying to protect their homes from out-of-control, illegal gorse fires.

Last year, thousands of acres were destroyed in mountainous areas, around 4,000 acres in Killarney National Park alone. Burning off scrub to allow fresh vegetation to grow has been an agricultural practice since time immemorial, but it has to be regulated and there the conflict arises between farmers and environmentalists.

Following intensive lobbying by farming organisations and some politicians, heritage minister Heather Humphreys planned to change the laws on dates for burning, but hadn’t done so prior to the general election as the Bill had not gone through the Oireachtas.

Wildlife groups are concerned about misunderstandings that the burning season in the uplands and hedge-cutting has been extended. BirdWatch Ireland, the Irish Wildlife Trust and several other bodies are reminding landowners all burning and cutting had to stop on February 29. Such activity is banned from March 1 to August 31.

Their case is that the ban is necessary to protect nesting and breeding birds, especially, but also other wildlife, many of which are on the point of extinction due to loss of habitat.

However, the law is flouted year after year, with March and April being the worst. The law has exemptions allowing for hedgecutting to remove hazards to road safety, for instance. Common sense must come into play, particularly when overgrown hedges obstruct views at road junction and bends. It’s a landowner’s responsibility to keep hedges trimmed, but local authorities have to take action sometimes. The Irish Natura & Hill Farmers Association is still calling for an extension of the timeframe for burning to March 31, saying there was no suitable time since last September for burning due to very wet conditions.

“The extension of this date is now essential for many hillfarmers who had areas identified for prescribed burning to help maintain their land in a state suitable for grazing”, said association chairman Vincent Roddy. Some organisations have called for the closed season to be from March 17 to July 31.

Many upland bird species are in trouble. The curlew has declined by 80%. Changes to the cutting and burning dates, which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016, would have caused serious impacts to these birds, says BirdWatch Ireland.

Some birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, such as the endangered yellowhammer. BirdWatch Ireland has organised a petition with several other groups to stop these changes. It has attracted more than 16,200 signatures so far.