John Monaghan
07 December, 2016 01:00
AN Irish bird conservation
charity has hit out at reports that buzzards have been targetting animals
including dogs, cats and rabbits in a series of attacks.
Birdwatch Ireland described
recent media claims in Tipperary as scaremongering and "highly misleading
and misinformed".
According to some reports
buzzards were responsible for attacks where "a number of terriers having
been taken, leading to call for protection orders to be lifted."
It claimed that one Yorkshire
terrier was attacked twice and killed, while one TD had complained of buzzards
circling over his head.
One report said: "There are
also concerns that with the increase in buzzards, the spring lambing season
after Christmas could be an ideal hunting ground for them - but a very costly
one for sheep owners."
A spokesman for BirdWatch Ireland
said the species, which has re-colonised rapidly in recent years, posed no
threat to sheep or lambs.
"This is a myth which
refuses to die in some quarters, and it needs to stop. By preying on crows,
rats and other pests, buzzards in reality bring a number of clear benefits to
our sheep farmers.
"Buzzards also prey on
rabbits, but are incapable of killing prey larger than this. Contrary to claims
in the article, buzzards pose no threat whatsoever to the survival of Ireland’s
hare population."
The charity said that while other
countries in Europe have higher buzzard populations than Ireland "there
does not seem to be any comparable scaremongering or media-induced panic and
misinformation about threats to pets there."
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