Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I said earlier, this is a deplorable and illegal activity in the case of badgers and foxes. While badgers are protected under the wildlife Acts, foxes are not but they do come under the Animal Health and Welfare Act and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. One issue which arises in this area is that of evidence. Those doing it must be literally caught in the act. It is difficult for the Garda to gather the intelligence in this area to investigate and prosecute as it sees fit. I appreciate that the material is posted online but by that stage the event has already taken place.

It is something that I take very seriously. I am open to discussions about a joint task force. The ISPCA and the NPWS signed a memorandum of agreement in May 2006 which facilitates a closer working relationship between the two in wildlife crime and prosecutions. There are 72 front-line conservation rangers and we will increase this to 84. We are also going to try to increase the level of monitoring in this regard. It is an important issue and we must look after the welfare of the animals and clamp down on this barbaric practice.

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