The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has issued a warning that reports calling for cattle culls could undermine the reputation of Irish agri-food goods and cast doubt on the sector’s green credentials.
The hill group stated that it had major misgivings regarding an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded report expected to advise a 30% cull of all livestock and the rewetting of 90% of all reclaimed land.
The report itself has yet to be published by the EPA.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy claimed it could become “very difficult” to market Irish food as being sustainable “while at the same time encouraging a cull across our livestock sectors on the premise that this helps address issues around climate change and biodiversity loss”.
'Reputational damage'
Roddy commented that the impact of such culling calls goes “beyond the reputational damage”.
It must be clarified, he said, “if the science relates to secondary research and what level is based on science conducted in Ireland”.
“We are currently seeing data used by the [European] Commission relating to the nature restoration regulation on emissions from drained peatlands and the blanket bogs on our uplands that is based on international data from Finland and Canada.”
It is “vital that we only act on science conducted in Ireland and we should hold off on making any major decisions until this data is available”, he stated.
The INHFA president referred to the land use changes proposed in the report “as extremely problematic not just for farmers, but the wider rural economy”.
He sought support to maintaining farming activities in rural areas from non-farming elements of rural communities which benefit from the agricultural trade.
Read more
Some activists ‘salivating’ at cattle cuts and rewetting - ICSA
EPA report calling for 30% cattle cull should be 'incinerated' - TD
Opinion: land use issues will be front page news again and again
The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association (INHFA) has issued a warning that reports calling for cattle culls could undermine the reputation of Irish agri-food goods and cast doubt on the sector’s green credentials.
The hill group stated that it had major misgivings regarding an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-funded report expected to advise a 30% cull of all livestock and the rewetting of 90% of all reclaimed land.
The report itself has yet to be published by the EPA.
INHFA president Vincent Roddy claimed it could become “very difficult” to market Irish food as being sustainable “while at the same time encouraging a cull across our livestock sectors on the premise that this helps address issues around climate change and biodiversity loss”.
'Reputational damage'
Roddy commented that the impact of such culling calls goes “beyond the reputational damage”.
It must be clarified, he said, “if the science relates to secondary research and what level is based on science conducted in Ireland”.
“We are currently seeing data used by the [European] Commission relating to the nature restoration regulation on emissions from drained peatlands and the blanket bogs on our uplands that is based on international data from Finland and Canada.”
It is “vital that we only act on science conducted in Ireland and we should hold off on making any major decisions until this data is available”, he stated.
The INHFA president referred to the land use changes proposed in the report “as extremely problematic not just for farmers, but the wider rural economy”.
He sought support to maintaining farming activities in rural areas from non-farming elements of rural communities which benefit from the agricultural trade.
Read more
Some activists ‘salivating’ at cattle cuts and rewetting - ICSA
EPA report calling for 30% cattle cull should be 'incinerated' - TD
Opinion: land use issues will be front page news again and again
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