Tipperary people are encouraged to get involved in a protest about protecting Ireland’s hedgerows.
The protest is organised by Hedgerows Ireland and will take place in Dublin next week.
The group say that hedgerows are of massive importance and should be protected and encouraged at all costs.
Speaking to Tipp FM, Dr Alan Moore of Hedgerows Ireland said that there is a particular type of perpetrator of mass hedge cutting:
“What we’re seeing is a phenomenon of a particular type of farm, very often bought by large investment companies where, as soon as the land changes hands the Hymac diggers move in and 6 or 8 fields are turned into one 100 acre prairie.
“That kind of maximising of the land is definitely not good farming, it’s short term-ism, it leads to soil erosion, loss of nutrients and so on.”
Dr Moore also said that farmers should be rewarded for protecting hedgerows under the Common Agricultural Policy.
“So we’re looking for a change in the legislation but also, an improvement in the payments to those farmers who are doing good work with their hedgerows and letting them grow bigger and taller and capturing more carbon and doing more good for the environment.
“The new CAP has essentially dropped the ball on rewarding landowners for good existing hedgerows and this is despite extensive lobbying, not just from our group but from many other groups.”
For anyone interested in travelling to the protest, it will take place on Wednesday and a bus will go from the Horse and Jockey Hotel at 9.15am, email [email protected] to book a place.
