Luxembourg, 19/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Court of Justice has condemned Ireland for not having protected red grouse in the special protection area of the Owenduff-Nephin Beg Complex, a vast swathe of peat bog land in Western Ireland. Red Grouse is the victim of over-grazing by sheep.
The Commission recalled that this bird lived in the hills and the peat bogs and fed essentially off heather with which it also made its nest. But, the peat bog is a plant area seriously threatened by intensive grazing practised by sheep farmers. The reproduction area of the red grouse has thus been "obviously and brutally" depleted.
The sixth Chamber of the Court of Justice, presided over by the Irish judge Fidelma Macken explained that the Irish authorities had acknowledged that the Owenduff-Nephin Beg Complex was highly populated in sheep which had caused considerable damage, notably on the west slope of Lough Feeagh: which had led to the recent reduction in the number of Greenland White-fronted geese in the area. The Irish Government also recognised that the authorities had to take the necessary stabilising steps to remedy the situation. The Court condemns Ireland for not having done so.
One of Ireland's main arguments was that the Commission could not only point the finger at her, the proliferation of sheep and the harm that caused being due to the generous premiums the common agricultural policy has been giving sheep farmers for fifteen years (a more rational system of premiums has replaced the old system since this year).
The 1979 "Habitat" directive is known, along with the directive on nitrates, to be a burden on the Commission, responsible for ensuring its implementation, due to reservations on the part of the farming world.