Category Archives for "Press Releases"

Feb 06

Press Release: IWT calls for better legal protection for marine life

Press Release: IWT calls for better legal protection for marine life 05 February 2018 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for full legal protection for selected marine fish and invertebrates in a newly released report, entitled ‘Protecting Our Ocean’s Wealth – a proposal for legal protection of threatened marine species’. The protection of wildlife […]

Continue reading
Dec 09

Radical action needed to save our seas

Radical action needed to save our seas Published on: 9 December 2017 This week sees the annual carve up of commercial fish populations by the countries of the European Union. Ireland will be represented by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed. A report by the New Economics Foundation found that last year Minister […]

Continue reading
Dec 02

IWT welcomes expansion of Ballycroy NP

Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the expansion of Ballycroy National Park  Published on: 2 December 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) warmly welcomes the announcement by the new Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan, that Ballycroy National Park in Co. Mayo is to be significantly expanded. This creates an enormous opportunity to enhance habitats […]

Continue reading
Nov 20

IWT calls for ban on industrial electrofishing

Irish Wildlife Trust calls on European Parliament Fisheries Committee to prohibit industrial electrofishing Published on: 20 November 2017 Tomorrow (Tuesday November 21st) the European Parliament fisheries committee is to decide whether to allow so-called ‘electric pulse’ fishing to be considered ‘conventional’, a move which would allow Member States to licence it like any other type of fishing. […]

Continue reading
Nov 14

Irish Wildlife Trust calls on Minister Michael Creed to end destructive ‘pair-trawling’ in coastal waters

Irish Wildlife Trust calls on Minister Michael Creed to end destructive ‘pair-trawling’ in coastal waters Published on: 14 November 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is once again receiving reports from the south-west that destructive ‘pair trawling’ is underway in shallow bays and inlets. Pair-trawling is the practice whereby two boats drag a single net, effectively […]

Continue reading
Oct 19

IWT condemns Athlone Municipal District Council’s call for Pine Marten cull

IWT condemns Athlone Municipal District Council’s call for Pine Marten cull Published on: 19 October 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) condemns the call by Athlone Municipal District Council to de-list the Pine Marten as a protected species. The Pine Marten is a cat-sized carnivore which feeds predominantly on berries and invertebrates. Having been nearly wiped […]

Continue reading
Sep 12

97 illegal wild fires recorded across Ireland in 2017

PRESS RELEASE: IWT complains to the European Commission after 97 illegal wildfires recorded across Ireland in 2017 Published on: 12 September 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has formally complained to the European Commission (EC) that the Irish government is failing in its duty under the Birds and Habitats Directives to protect threatened wildlife in our […]

Continue reading
Jul 31

Early signs of recovery in Irish Sea Cod welcomed

PRESS RELEASE: Early signs of recovery in Irish Sea cod welcomed by IWT but it’s still too early for celebration  Published on: 31 July 2017  The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes news that cod in the Irish sea is beginning to recover after decades of overfishing. Only last year the status of cod in this area […]

Continue reading
Jun 27

Support of hare coursing ban

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust calls on public to contact TDs in support of hare coursing ban Published on: 27 June 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is fully behind the private members’ Bill brought forward by Maureen O’Sullivan to ban hare coursing in Ireland and is urging people to make their voices heard. The Irish […]

Continue reading
Jun 17

Cut out herbicide use

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust calls on local authorities and members of the public to cut out herbicide use  Published on: 17 June 2017 This summer, the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is urging the local authorities and members of the public to avoid the use of harmful herbicides and weed-killers, particularly on our roadsides. The casual […]

Continue reading
Jun 09

New UNESCO status for Killarney National Park

PRESS RELEASE 9th June 2017 Irish Wildlife Trust opposes new UNESCO status for Killarney National Park Since 1982 Killarney National Park has been a UNESCO ‘biosphere’ reserve which, according to the world body “promotes solutions reconciling the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use”[i]. In December last year the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) complained to […]

Continue reading
May 31

Illegal dumping

Press Release: Illegal dumping and mechanical turf extraction again found in Glenveagh National Park Published on: 31 May 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has made a complaint to the EPA and Donegal County Council in relation to illegal dumping in Glenveagh National Park. Over the weekend a large quantity of builder’s rubble was found in a […]

Continue reading
Mar 31

Amendment to Heritage Bill

PRESS RELEASE: Amendment to Heritage Bill step in the right direction but does not answer the Burning Question Published on: 31 March 2017 The IWT reluctantly welcomes the outcome of the Seanad debate on the Heritage Bill. The outcome is not what we would have liked as we strongly felt that hedge-cutting for health and safety […]

Continue reading
Mar 23

Devastating weekend for wildfires

PRESS RELEASE: Devastating weekend for wildfires across Ireland  Published on: 23 March 2017 With a grim predictability, the first dry spell of Spring has seen a surge of wildfires across Ireland. Since Friday the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has recorded 15 wildfires from counties Cork, Kerry, Waterford, Galway, Donegal, Louth and Mayo. Eight of these were in areas protected for nature conservation […]

Continue reading
Mar 14

Ruling on hedgerow destruction

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes ruling on hedgerow destruction which costs Meath farmer €3,500 Published on: 14 March 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the recent ruling from Judge Gráinne Malone at Navan District Court (13th January last) in which Mr. Richard Douglas, a cattle farmer from Rathmoylan, Co Meath, appeared on a summons relating to the destruction […]

Continue reading
Mar 02

Prohibition on burning vegetation

Press Release: Prohibition on burning vegetation comes into effect on Wednesday (March 1st)  Published on: 2 March 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is reminding landowners that from Wednesday (March 1st) it is prohibited under the Wildlife Act to burn vegetation for the duration of the bird nesting season (ending August 31st). Last year the IWT recorded 27 wild […]

Continue reading
Jan 24

Badgers continue to die in large numbers

Press Release: Nothing new in Creed’s badger vaccination ‘announcement’. Badgers continue to die in large numbers. Published on: 24 January 2017 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the publication of research which shows that vaccinating badgers is effective in reducing levels of TB in badger [1]. However, yesterdays ‘announcement’ of the results by Minister for Agriculture, […]

Continue reading
Dec 14

Minister Creed fails to act in the public interest

Press Release: Minister Creed fails to act in the public interest in failing to end overfishing  Published on: 14 December 2016 The Irish Wildlife Trust, which was in Brussels this week, is disappointed with the outcome of the latest round of fish quota negotiations which will do little for coastal communities or the protection of the […]

Continue reading
Dec 14

Action Plan must address lack of political will

Press Release: National Biodiversity Action Plan must address lack of political will if we are to save our wildlife  Published on: 14 December 2016 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has called for greater prioritisation of wildlife protection in its submission to the draft National Biodiversity Action Plan. This is the third such plan and this is […]

Continue reading
Dec 08

Prioritise recovery of fish stocks

Press Release: Minister Creed urged to prioritise recovery of fish stocks to benefit fish and coastal communities  Published on: 8 December 2016 In advance of the annual Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels next Monday and Tuesday the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is urging Minister Michael Creed to prioritise the recovery of fish populations – something that will […]

Continue reading
Dec 08

Minister urged to prioritise recovery of fish stocks

Press Release: Minister Creed urged to prioritise recovery of fish stocks to benefit fish and coastal communities Published on: 8 December 2016 In advance of the annual Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels next Monday and Tuesday the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is urging Minister Michael Creed to prioritise the recovery of fish populations – something that will […]

Continue reading
Nov 30

Independent observers on board supertrawlers

PRESS RELEASE: MEPs must use their influence to get independent observers on board supertrawlers in Irish waters Published on: 30 November 2016 The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the intervention by the naval service to board the supertrawler ‘Margiris’ yesterday (see www.facebook.com/irishnavalservice ). However in order to address the concerns around these very large boats it is […]

Continue reading