[Harry Hussey]

Hi all,
Apologies for the title of this article from the "Limerick Leader",but just goes to show what kind of mindset we have to deal with here in Ireland....
Harry
'Shoot the bastards'
By PATRICIA FEEHILY



Threatened and threatening: the hen harrier

OVER 800 people attended the IFA's public meeting in Templeglantine on the Dúchas hen harrier protection plan.

It was one of the biggest meetings ever held in the area, and seldom was the mood so raptorial or so trigger-happy.

It would have been comic if it weren't so serious--serious for the farmers whose lands and livelihoods are threatened by special designation and for the bird which has been in decline since 1900 and which almost became extinct in 1954, apparently from "persecution", although the farmers claim that they lived in harmony together for generations until Dúchas appeared.

Everything was up in the air at the meeting. An attempt by Dúchas director, John Wilson to put the hen harrier in "its historic, legal and scientific context" left the farmers of West Limerick totally unimpressed.

With no real clarification of anything, they emerged from the Devon Inn threatening to "shoot the bastards".

"The hen harrier will need a rosary beads around his neck from now on," growled one of them ominously.

It seems that you'll never take the gun out of Irish politics. The EU already has the gun to the heads of the Dúchas people over the designation of SPAs . "There's a threat of court action if we don't get on with the job," Mr Wilson pleaded.

And IFA leader, John Dillon was cheered to the rafters when he told the meeting how they used to deal with birds of prey hovering over his mother's chickens in the farmyard at home when he was young.

"When this fellow appeared in the sky, the first thing we got was the gun to sort him out."

The Dúchas officials were horrified.

Mr Dillon was at his fiery best, and has banned Dúchas from the lands of West Limerick, North Cork and North Kerry until the farmers get justice and fair play. The hen harrier may yet be a party to the partnership talks, but as someone remarked at the meeting, the cost of the Government's jet fleet will be peanuts compared to the cost of keeping him in the air.



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[Andy Bright]

'Shoot the bastards'
Couldn't agree more... there are far too many farmers around for my liking. Maybe selective culling?
Andy B

[Ashley beolens]

On the subject of farmers (sorry a little off tack) did anyone else see the Panorama programme last night aparrently we in the west give 3 times as much money to farmers in subsidies as we do aid to developing countries!!! and yet farmers from the west are happy to kill anything they feel might harm under 1% of thier stock?

Forgive me if I agree with Andy on this one.

[T0ny]

Don't shoot them - far too quick. Break their arms, legs & spine (slowly) then leave them under a bush to die, or get eaten alive by rats. That, after all, is what they do to raptors if it's not a clean kill.

Tony

Do unto others - but do it first, and harder.

[Booga]

This is the fourth time I come back to this thread. In found it hard to answer in case I offened any members. I'm heartened to see that I am not alone in my feeling for the attitudes and actions of the IFA. Sadly it's an attitude echoed in various forms with regards to all kinds of wildlife all over our Islands, not to mention the world at large.

As arguement and education do not appear to wash with people like Mr. Dillon, I concede that a cull would be in order. My vote goes to T0ny for the methods, although I would add the insertion of a red-hot poker to where the sun doesn't shine, just for good measure you understand.

My hands are actually shaking with anger BTW

[robinm]

And we subsidise people like these up to the hilt. Makes my blood boil. Of course they're all so poor they don't know where the next Range Rover is coming from

Robin