This article is from page 30 of the 2007-08-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
A NEW farming initiative, aimed at saving the ancient Burren goats from extinction, was launch in Carron last week. The BurrenLIFE Project (BLP) has established a trial scheme, where they will transform one Bur- ren farm into a sanctuary for the goats.
The long-term survival of the rare indigenous Irish goats has been put in jeopardy in recent years due to interbreeding with local abandoned goats and culling.
The goats can cause problems for Burren farmers by spoiling grass- lands and knocking walls, caus-
ing penalties for the farmers under REPS.
Large herds of goats roam and graze in the Burren but only a frac- tion of these are ancient Irish goats.
In recent years the explosive growth in the population of feral goats in the Burren has resulted in the culling of large numbers of goats by local farmers and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, who are concerned about the impact of goat browsing on tree species.
While there is general agreement on the need for managed culls of fe- ral goats to sustainable population levels, there are concerns that ran- dom culling could spell the end for
the few remaining individuals of the old Irish breed of goat.
The objective of the BLP 1s to de- velop a new model for sustainable agriculture in the Burren in order to conserve the sensitive Burren habi- tat.
As part of its work with 20 local Life-farmers, the BLP is working with one local farmer to erect a se- cure 22 acre enclosure within which itis hoped that a breeding population of old irish goats may be kept.
This pilot project will not only sup- port the conservation of the goats, but will also allow the BLP to moni- tor the impact of these feral goats on scrub and grasslands, and look at
their use as a ‘conservation grazing’ tool. ;
According to Ruairi O Conchuir of the BLP, the project is being under- taken on the farm of LIFE farmer, Patrick McCormack, with support from the project going to erect suit- able fencing and to supply water fa- cilities for the goats.
Goats have a long association with the Burren. Excavations at Poulnab- rone Dolman uncovered goat bones, indicating that these were an impor- tant part of the mixed farm systems of the Stone Age, over 5,000 years ago. For more information on this and other BLP work check out www. ebeMuCOUENCoMCCe)eeF