JARVEYS’ HORSE-DRAWN carriages without appropriate “dung catchers” are to be banned from Killarney National Park in an effort to clean up the park.
The prohibition on the traditional horse carriages, 80 of which operate under licence along the lake and mountain routes of the park, will begin on June 8th next, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has said.
It follows complaints by locals and tourists about the state of walkways and cycleways around Muckross House, Torc, the Demesne and Ross Island.
It is understood the jarveys are to be offered an incentive in the form of a grant of €80 towards the purchase of the dung catchers.
Dung depots are also to be arranged around the park for emptying the devices. It is expected there will be great demand from local gardeners for the material for their roses.
However, the regulation is not going down well with jarveys, who ply their trade across a network of 15km of internal roadway within the park. Down through the years attempts have been made to woo the jarveys with demonstrations of various dung catching devices both by the town council and NPWS officials.
On Wednesday the jarveys were shown a video of the device in action. The jarveys have consistently rejected what they term “nappies” as “unsafe, and unsuitable”.
Yesterday, jarvey spokesman Pat O’Sullivan said the devices would be dangerous for horses because of “the uphill, downhill nature of the terrain of Killarney”.
Only one in about every five horses could be fitted with them. They were “highly dangerous”.
He said he had researched the matter on the internet. The ban would not stand up legally and would be challenged. he said.
Killarney councillor Danny Healy-Rae warned that if the jarveys were taken out of Killarney, the Kerry town would lose its special appeal and would be the same as Macroom or any other mid-Cork town.
“It’s not a requirement in the Phoenix Park. It’s not a requirement for gardaí [mounted guards]. We should be trying to help the jarveymen in this difficult time,” Mr Healy-Rae said.
The ban will not apply outside the park, but a motion by Fine Gael councillor Sheila Casey at this month’s meeting of Killarney Town Council to tackle the dung issue on the streets of the town also received support. Ms Casey said a situation could not be allowed to continue whereby a dog owner was fined for dog fouling, but a horse owner was allowed get away with a far greater volume of material.
The NPWS said park management had tried cleaning the roads with mechanical sweepers but these were noisy and their constant use would disturb the tranquillity of the area.
The dung catcher had been tested by a UK equine expert along with a leading veterinary consultant.
An NPWS spokesman said the dung catchers did not “compromise animal health or welfare”, rejecting the claims of the jarveys.