Group established to tackle 'long acre' sheep grazing on Mayo island

A LOBBY group has been set up in Achill to tackle sheep wandering on the roads and causing a trespass nuisance on private property.

A campaign by the Upper Achill Concerned Property Owners group has highlighted the public safety risks with sheep on the roads, particularly over the summer months, as the local population swells with visitors holidaying in the area.

The issue was recently highlighted by Deputy Michael Ring, who receives regular complaints about sheep coming down off unfenced commonage, with no legislation in place to cover the situation when accidents occur.

On their recently established Facebook page, the Upper Achill Concerned Property Owners group set out their issues.

Achill Island is Ireland's largest island, with an area of 56 square miles, 87% of which is bogland or hills, better known as ‘commonage’.

Approximately 2,500 people live on the island permanently but in the summer months the population can increase to in excess of 10,000, with roads very busy with both cyclists, vehicles and people walking.

“People do live throughout the island and we want an immediate ‘stop’ to this wholly unacceptable method of sheep and rams grazing at the side of the public roads.

“This unacceptable practice results in great difficulty and inconvenience for our ageing community, in particular, as gates have to be constantly opened and closed in all types of weather.

“There is an increased incidence of accidents on our public roads with potential for personal injury (slipping, falling and being injured by the animals, especially the rams), with numerous vehicle accidents to date, few reported, many not, for a variety of reasons.”

They highlighted that some parents are afraid of walking on the main road with young children and prams due to roaming rams, and cyclists are also at risk.

Sheep graze in the centuries old cemetery in Kildownet and visitors can’t avoid walking on their droppings, they added.

The campaign also raised concern where there have been incidences of carcasses left at the side of the road where sheep have died.

They called on TDs and local councillors as well as An Garda Síochána and the Department of Agriculture to assist them in stopping this method of grazing on the ‘long acre’ in inhabited and populated areas in Upper Achill as a matter of urgency.