This article is from page 17 of the 2014-01-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
THE prospect of swarming bees chasing stampeding cattle over dangerous cliffs in the Burren was raised at Clare County Council yesterday, as councillors could not decide whether to support a project to creation an Apiary (or bee sanctuary) in the Burren.
A motion to support plans by NUI, Galway, and other agencies to help reintroduce bees to the Burren created an unexpected stir at last night January meeting of Clare County Council, with a heated argument breaking out between North Clare based Cllr Michael Kelly (FF) and Ennis Cllr Johnny Flynn (FG).
The motion was opposed by Cllr Kelly who claimed that the introduction of bees would lead to cattle stampeded, which would result in the injury and death of animals.
“I am opposed this motion. Farmers are well aware that swarms of bees can cause a stampedes of cattle. I wish the bee keepers every success but if Cllr Flynn can suggest a site for this in Ennis, I would be very happy to supported it,” he said.
“I have 50 years of experience in farming in the Burren and if this goes ahead I have no doubt that it will create swarms of bees which will interfere with farmers and cattle.
“If the Burren floura is to flourish, it needs to be grazed during the summer. If you put bees into the Burren you won’t be able to graze cattle there safely.
“If you get an expert (from NUI, Galway) to speak here, of course they will be in favour of it, because they don’t have land in the Burren and they won’t have cattle with broken legs following stampeded in the Burren.”
Following a long debate on the motion, it was decided to defer a vote until expert opinion on the subject are invited to speak before Clare County Council.
“The experts at NUI, Galway and GMIT have a number of sites already in the Burren. With the history of organisations such as BurrenBeo and the significate investment already given to further farming practice in the Burren [the Burren Farming for Conservation Project] and there is an agreement that the Burren is the perfect spot for something like this. I would not consider that there would be any significant danger to livestock through this. Bee keeping is not an illegl activity; you can do it anywhere. This is not something new.”