Seal slaughter - Callous act of savagery unjustifiable

BARBARISM is the only word to describe the slaughter of seals on the Blasket Islands.

Inevitably, salmon fishermen are being blamed as they are the only sector competing directly with seals in the food chain.

Arguably, the steady decline of salmon in Irish waters is more attributable to the activities of drift net fishermen than the natural predation of seals on migrating fish. Ireland is one of the last countries in Europe where drift nets are still used to catch salmon.

By any yardstick, the brutal slaughter of more than 60 seals and their pups was an appalling act of savagery. In no way can it be justified.

It reflects badly on communities in the Dingle peninsula and is bound to have a negative impact on tourism. A lot of people will be turned off Kerry by the massacre of seals on the Blaskets. It raises serious concerns about the role of the Wildlife Service, which has failed to manage vulnerable seal colonies around our coast.

Grey seals are protected in European waters and a garda investigation into this callous crime is underway. Though it is not the first time seals have been killed on the west coast, no one has ever been prosecuted.

Hopefully, the wall of silence shrouding the perpetrators of these horrific attacks will be breached and they will finally be brought to justice.