Countryside Alliance Ireland - love the countryside

FACE Ireland is encouraging all country sports supporters to join in and celebrate St Hubert’s Day (St Hubert is the patron saint of hunting) by either holding a game dinner or BBQ in honour of sustainable hunting in Ireland.  

This year the location for St Hubert's Day celebration is Kinnity Castle and will be held on Friday the 4th November starting at 12:30. It is anticipated that a large number of hunt, gun and angling clubs will be in attendance and will make this a memorable day out.  In addition, land owners and all friends of country sports will be most welcome to attend and enjoy the festivities.  

Game shooters are encouraged to bring along a hunting dog as a symbol of their traditional past time.  Other hunting and country sport disciplines are invited to bring along similar suitable symbols, including birds of prey so come along to this important social occasion and celebrate the start of a great hunting season.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in conjunction with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, has developed a Draft Policy Vision for Deer Management in Ireland. The Department now invites written submissions from interested parties and organisations in relation to this document, and deer management policy related issues in general.

In addition to written submissions, the Department also invites written expressions of interest from organisations and groups interested in participating in a future Policy Development Partnership that will assist with the further development of an agreed Deer Management Strategy for Ireland, in conjunction with the Departments concerned.Draft Deer Management Policy Vision (pdf 537Kb)

Written submissions and expressions of interest should be sent by email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by post to

Submission on Deer Management Policy Vision,
Forest Service,
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine,
Johnstown Castle Estate,
Wexford.

Please note that submissions received will be made publicly available on this website.The Closing date for receipt of submissions is Monday, November 28, 2011

Northern Ireland's Sports Minister, Carál Ní Chuilín, today announced that there will be no increase in fishing licence fees for the 2012 fishing seasons. In making the announcement, the Minister said: “In light of the current economic climate, I have decided to keep the salmon and inland fishing licence fees at 2011 levels.

This is the third year in a row that there has been no annual increase. I hope this will continue to ease the financial burden on those involved in the commercial fishing sectors and encourage others to enjoy recreational fishing.”

Whilst there is a price freeze on licences and permit fees, fishing permits for the Public Angling Estate will subject to an inflationary rise of 4.8%.

Continuing, the Minister said: “Angling has proven health benefits and I would like to see more people get involved. I hope that by freezing the licence fees, people will be more encouraged to take up the sport and become more active and healthy.”

Lyall Plant Chief Executive Countryside Alliance Ireland said: "we are delighted to see that there is no increase in the annual licence for next season. However, we urge all those who go angling to do so legally and obtain the correct licence and fishing permit for 2012.

These new regulations consolidate the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 to 2005 and the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats)(Control of Recreational Activities) Regulations 2010, as well as addressing transposition failures identified in the CJEU judgements. 

The Regulations have been prepared to address several judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) against Ireland, notably cases C-418/04 and C-183/05, in respect of failure to transpose elements of the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive into Irish law. To view the new regulations Click Here

Countryside Alliance Ireland welcomes Fingal Academy of Shooting Sports (FASS) on to its panel of selected training providers. FASS can provide any of our clubs and ranges with tailored courses to meet their Safety Officer requirements whether game club or target disciplines.  

The Fingal Academy of Shooting Sports was set up in 2004 in response to a growing demand for quality firearms instruction. The FASS has aligned with the NRA in the USA to provide a high standard in firearms instruction. All courses are provided by NRA Certified Instructors. The courses provided by FASS certified instructors are to NRA standards. The manuals and texts provided when participating in courses are designed with years of firearms education behind them.

The mission statement of the Fingal Academy of Shooting Sports is to provide professional firearms safety and proficiency training to the standard that has been set by the NRA.

If you or your club has any specific requirements contact us direct.

Shane McEntee TD, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with responsibility for forestry, today highlighted National Trails Day which is taking place on Sunday, 2nd October 2011, and encouraged people to avail of the opportunity to explore trails and enjoy the activities organised throughout the country. 

Jointly highlighting the event with Ms. Michelle O’Neill, MLA, Minister for Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland, the Minister of State commented that this is an ideal opportunity for people to become aware of, and sample, the benefits of exercise in the natural environment with a variety of trails on offer including walking, cycling, equestrian and water trails.

The Newry Branch of the Riding for the Disabled Association and Newry Hunt Club are holding a pleasure ride on Sunday 2^nd October 2011 from 10am.  This includes a go-as-you-please and a lead rein or riverside ride.  

All proceeds from this ride go to the Newry Branch of the Riding for the Disabled Association.  The venue is at Lecale Holiday Cottages, 125 Kilbroney Road, Rostrevor, County Down, BT34 3BW

For further directions please visit www.rostrevorholidays.com or contact Michelle on 07841 839013.

To: Operators of all DAFF approved Game Handling Establishments

Subject: Wild Deer Intake Document (Ref: WGLI1) Click Here for updated Form

Revised Trader Notice: MH No. 12/2011

Background

From 1st September 2011 an intake document (attached) must be completed in respect of each wild deer received at DAFF approved Game Handling Establishments.

The document should be completed by the hunter, the trained person (where relevant) and the Game Handling Establishment. It should be retained by the Game Handling Establishment

The Countryside Alliance Foundation’s Game-to-Eat campaign has sent its annual newsletters to 9,000 butchers and 4,000 pubs to mark the start of the game season. The newsletters encourage retailers and caterers to start making space on their menus and shop-shelves for game and offer tips on how best to promote it.  

The newsletters contain information on the game promotional campaign’s work, including the new season recipe leaflet which features recipes from top chef Valentine Warner, tips for promoting game, news on the successful and ongoing game preparation workshops and also information about the campaign’s new website which encourages butchers and pubs to sign up to a free listing service. 

The Game-to-Eat campaign, now in its 11th year, is dedicated to increasing the eating and enjoyment of British wild game. Game sales have increased 92% since Game-to-Eat started and the market is now worth £75m (Mintel 2010). Last season the campaign promoted game to 55.6m people. These newsletters harness the enthusiasm of the butchers and chefs who support game and who are keen to help us tell the public. 

Game-to-Eat Director Alexia Robinson commented: “We are excited about the new season and that excitement and enthusiasm is shared by the thousands of butchers and chefs who use game and actively promote its benefits. There is so much more we can do but having over 12,000 establishments joining our promotional crusade we are in a great position to really shout about game.” The Game to Eat Butchers Newsletter is available by Clicking Here and the Chefs Newsletter are available by Clicking Here