A local wildlife expert says he doesn't believe pine martens pose any significant threat to curlews or hen harriers.
Owen Murphy, who's an ornithologist, was responding to concerns raised this week by Leitrim councillor Gerry Dolan who questioned why the government is spending money on bird conservation, but not doing anything to curb the spread of pine martens who he says are killing these same birds.
Mr Murphy is currently working under contract as the warden for Lough Ree and the mid-Shannon Callows, as well as Curlew Advisory Officer for Lough Ree.
He says that from his hours spent in observing these birds and the dangers to them, he believes mink, and even domestic cats are far more of a threat.
"The chances of them interacting with a pine marten on any level is relatively low. They have a number of pressures that are unrelated to pine martens that would be considered far more severe and far more urgent than the threat of pine martens. Mink are a big one especially near any source of water. Foxes are obviously the most general predator. Some of those other predators would far outweigh the impacts on ground-nesting birds. Domestic cats that are feral and that roam freely in the countryside day and night, they do untold damage in far bigger quantities than pine martens would".
