Animal Traps in Boora Parklands

mikka631

I came across a few animal traps in Boora Parklands today. Are these legal traps? They look too small to be for adult Foxes.

Mothman

Contact the park.

Perhaps its part of a mammal survey or targeting mink

kildare.17hmr

Any pics of the traps?

whyulittle

There is a mink float in one location, and a couple of traps on logs crossing drains - I always presumed for rats. There was some small mammal traps put out for the Bioblitz a while back.

I'd imagine everything there is legal. The gamekeepers there are very visible, and there was an NPWS ranger van around last time I was there.

V Bull

mikka631 wrote: »

I came across a few animal traps in Boora Parklands today. Are these legal traps? They look too small to be for adult Foxes.

Yes, more than likely these are legal traps put down by the Grey Partridge wardens to combat predators and the like, particularly mink & fox. Many of the traps are fixed or floating with some Larsen Traps for Magpies & Hoodies etc

Guys, Please do not interfer with any traps that you might find in the Parklands area, they are checked and baited regularly by the wardens.

johngalway

whyulittle wrote: »

and a couple of traps on logs crossing drains - I always presumed for rats.

I imagine they'll also be for mink.

recedite

Yes, mink are the main threat to the nesting partridges there.

mikka631

OK happy enough with that, email sent to the correct authorities. I would never interfere whether they were legal or not, would rather the illegals were caught in the act of collecting their booty.

Traonach

I think that they are allowed to trap stoat and pine marten if they are causing damage to the partridge. Fair enough considering how threatened the partridge are.

Birdnuts

Traonach wrote: »

I think that they are allowed to trap stoat and pine marten if they are causing damage to the partridge. Fair enough considering how threatened the partridge are.

AFAIK these are "relocated" by the NPWS.

LostCovey

mikka631 wrote: »

I came across a few animal traps in Boora Parklands today. Are these legal traps? They look too small to be for adult Foxes.

It's a free country, but flagging the location of (presumably) legal traps on the internet wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Did you try the NPWS?

LostCovey

mikka631

LostCovey wrote: »

It's a free country, but flagging the location of (presumably) legal traps on the internet wasn't the smartest thing to do.

Did you try the NPWS?

LostCovey

Email sent to NPWS but so far no reply. If you feel my asking here on the forum was not the smartest thing to do then feel free to contact the mods and have the post removed.

recedite

The chances of finding the traps with that info would be similar to finding a needle in a haybarn.

OpenYourEyes

They're all put down by the NPWS. Predator control is a big part of why the Partridge scheme has been so successful, as well as the reason theres so many Hares, lapwing etc in Boora. They control crows, foxes, rodents, mink and stoats, with the necessary derogations to do so.

One of the people working in Boora estimated that there would be no partridges breeding there within 2years if predator control was stopped!

Desmo

Lough Boora is both inspirational and depressing. The guys on the ground there are doing a heroic job and it is working out but it is a huge effort and really shows how much pressure there is on breeding birds, in the Irish countryside.
40 years of EU and CAP and we wrecked the countryside and Irish farmers were still finding it very hard to make any kind of a living, despite the endless schemes and subsidies.

The trapping is indeed part of the management of the site and is strictly controlled and licensed.