Government policy on bloodsports

Sir, – As the biodiversity crisis deepens, it’s hard to fathom why the Government continues to allow persecution of creatures that are supposedly protected as treasures of our wildlife heritage. The magnificent golden plover, though red-listed and deemed to be of “highest conservation concern”, can still be shot for several months of the year, thanks to exemptions in the Wildlife Act, inserted by the politicians in response to lobbying by the shooting fraternity. The bird, with its distinctive plumage, is celebrated on a stamp authorised by the same political establishment that lets gunmen blast it out of the sky.

The Irish hare fares even worse. This “protected” mammal can be shot, coursed and hunted, despite being in steady decline as a species for the past half century. A number of stamps issued over the years highlight its place in our great carnival of the animals, but the State that honours its mythic status and conservationist priority via the postal system also allows people to set dogs on it for fun. And this gentle creature can be turned into a lead-riddled carcass for even more “sporting” days of the year than the golden plover has to put up with.

If the Government is serious about addressing the ever-increasing threat to all wildlife and eco-systems on this island, it should stop giving its stamp of approval to organised cruelty dressed up as “sport”! – Yours, etc,

JOHN FITZGERALD,

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