BURNING ISSUE WON’T GO AWAY

FIRES RAGED ACROSS KERRY TWO AND A HALF MONTHS AFTER DEADLINE

THE rains have come but sadly all too late for the thousands of upland commonage acres scorched by illegal fires which continue to smoulder two and a half months after the March 1 deadline. Fires raged again all this week, this time near Castleisland and Ballyheigue, prompting outrage from environmentalists.

Kerry Fire Service say they received 114 callouts since the start of 2017 for gorse fires – many of which were illegal under Section 40 of Wildlife Act 1976 which prohibits the burning of gorse between March 1 and August 31.

The law was enacted to ensure the legal protection of birds to allow them establish territories, make nests, lay eggs, rear chicks, and fledge chicks in upland areas. Some farmers claim this deadline should be extended to April 1.

Three people have died in Kerry since 2001 due to gorse fires – one person in south Kerry and two in the north of the county. Mike Flynn is Assistant Chief Fire Officer and said, nationally, 10 people have died over the past 10 to 15 years because of gorse fires.

But he added that the 2017 volume of fires remains much lower than seven years ago.

“This problem was far worse in 2010 when we had 650 call outs for gorse fire. Since then, Kerry Fire Service have worked in conjunction with the Gardaí, National Parks and Wildlife Service, and Teagasc with landowners to help them understand what they should and should not be doing,” said Mike.

But one must now question how effective this strategy is with illegal fires started in the hinterlands around areas such as Rathmore, Cahersiveen, Killarney, Portmagee, Glencar, Killorglin, Sneem, Knocknagoshel and Castleisland.

Oonagh Duggan of BirdWatch Ireland said the very fact fires are still burning two months after the deadline illustrates the point that not enough is being done by the authorities. Breaches to the wildlife act for burning gorse result in fines of between €50 and €600 but there have been no prosecutions.

While fires in upland heather and gorse scrub habitats is impacting on birdlife, it also causes habitat destruction for other wildlife who cannot escape the flames, such as chicks, frogs, lizards, hares and leverets.

“Birds in upland heather areas start nesting activity in early March. This pre-nesting period is crucial to birds as they mark out territory before breeding. People think it’s simply about destroyed nests. It is, but March is a crucial month in the whole breeding process for birds” said Oonagh.

“The fires have been raging two and half months after the deadline and we know that nests and other wildlife such as frogs and hares are being destroyed. A nest in Co Tyrone last week had two Hen Harrier chicks burned in a gorse fire. Illegal fires so late in the season are having a devastating impact,” she added.

Meanwhile, Cllr Dan McCarthy strongly opposes the current law and wants Minister Humphries to extend the deadline to April 1. Cllr McCarthy - an upland farmer near Kenmare - claims the problem has escalated since the new deadline was introduced. He condemns the current spate of fires but said the department needs to be flexible, adding that he is prepared to debate the issue with any expert on the matter.

“I’m convinced you wouldn’t have this problem if the deadline was extended until April 1. The whole thing is gone out of control now and there’s thousands of acres set alight. You can’t burn in January and February if the weather isn’t conducive to burning, you just can’t do it and you must farm with nature. This was never a problem before the new law.

“As for wildlife protection, look at what’s happening now? Everything is burned now. The people making these rules don’t have an idea what it’s like to farm these areas. The mountains aren’t stocked like they used to and it’s producing wild growth.”