Curlew removed from Irish hunting list, but more action needed

It is now illegal to shoot curlew in Ireland, but more needs to be done. (Photo by Colum Clarke)

October 2012. BirdWatch Ireland has welcomed the recent announcement by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan, that the Curlew will be removed from the list of huntable species in the Republic of Ireland, but has warned that such a ban in itself falls short of the range of actions urgently needed to save the breeding population of this, one of our nation's most iconic birds.

Fewer than 200 pairs in Ireland
BirdWatch Ireland surveys have shown that numbers of breeding Curlews have declined drastically over the past 20 years and that there are now probably fewer than 200 nesting pairs left in the Republic of Ireland.

While the Curlew was, for generations, one of the most cherished and evocative creatures of the Irish countryside, its extinction as a breeding bird here now seems certain unless additional urgent action is taken. Land use changes and habitat loss have driven the declines in breeding Curlews, as well as those of other breeding waders such as Lapwing and Redshank.

Anita Donaghy, BirdWatch Ireland's Curlew Project Officer, noted, "Over the last year, BirdWatch Ireland has brought these concerns both to Minister Deenihan and to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney, TD, calling on the Government to draw up a coordinated plan of actions to address habitat needs for Curlews without delay. BirdWatch Ireland is carrying out a range of actions across the country for Curlews but believes that alone it cannot achieve all that is required to prevent the species loss as an Irish breeding bird."

IUCN redlist
The Curlew has been added to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and, along with the Corncrake, is one of only two globally threatened bird species nesting in Ireland. Curlews are associated with uplands and some agricultural habitats and it is believed that prescriptions in national agri-environment programmes would act as a key tool in helping their recovery.

Commenting on the hunting ban, Alan Lauder, Chief Executive of BirdWatch Ireland, said, "While a ban on shooting will help, it alone is not enough to prevent the extinction of Ireland's breeding Curlews: we also need to see agri-environment support for good land management to improve conditions for breeding Curlew." Alan added that, "Ireland must act decisively if we are to meet our EU obligations and preserve our breeding Curlews and other wildlife for future generations."