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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has rejected calls from several of his TDs and senators to allow gun owners to shoot pheasants this winter.
At a private meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party, calls were made from several members of the rural party who said the shooting ban is “illogical” and will lead to an increase in abuses.
Cork South West Senator Tim Lombard, former Ministers Paul Kehoe and John Paul Phelan, and Clare TD Joe Carey expressed concern about the impact on hunters who cannot shoot this season.
Lombard, talking to him , said that for most of the people involved this is their only activity and since it takes place in remote outdoor settings, there is little or no risk of the spread of Covid-19.
“It’s totally illogical,” he said. “It is about a man and his dog shooting 5 km from his house, away from everyone.
“We advanced in the number of funeral and wedding attendees and the world did not collapse. We can do it here.
Lombard said the failure to allow hunting “will only lead to an increase in roadkill.”
In response, Mr. Varadkar said that while he accepted that anomalies would exist under the level 5 restrictions, if they progressed on this, they would have to move away from opening golf clubs and other leisure activities.
He said the restrictions have been in place for two weeks and they must be able to work.
Under normal circumstances, Michael Donovan of the Rathcormac Gun Club in Co Cork would be out next weekend with his son, Jack, and his springer spaniels in search of some of the 300 to 400 pheasants he raised and then released in July.
The filming season officially began on November 1, but with the Level 5 restrictions in place, it is not likely to be lifted until early December, which means a three-month season has now been reduced to two.
“In rural areas, 5 km in any direction is all field for me,” Michael said.
“We can walk the dogs out in the fields, but we can’t bring the weapons.”
He said that people here might have the wrong image of gunfire, based on the idea of upper-class guys in the UK who roam large estates, while in Ireland, clubs tend to chase “sharp shots” in smaller amounts.
Rathcormac Gun Club has 32 members and remains within the locality.
“We walked through all the fields, all the ditches and up and down each river,” Michael said, adding that it is on land that belongs to neighbors who have given written permission.
While he rears up to 400 pheasants before releasing them, he said he could only shoot a dozen over the course of the season, “and you’d be happy with that.”
He believes shooting is good both as a rural sport and for mental health, adding that “the Government has forgotten rural Ireland.”
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