Mayo community form group to stop 'scourge' of trespassing sheep

A GROUP of property owners on Achill Island have called for an immediate stop to sheep wandering the public road and trespassing onto private lands.

The Group, Concerned Upper Achill Property Owners, have described as a 'scourge' the 'illegal wandering and roaming' of sheep along the public road and are calling on the public who are affected to join them in highlighting and bringing the practice to a stop.

The Group claims that in the last week, up to 300 people have signed up to 'demonstrate to the necessary authorities our strength of feeling on this matter' and want sheep farmers to ensure that their flock remain on the commonage and do not roam on public roads.

“People do live throughout the island and we the people of Upper Achill which comprises the villages of Sraheens, Ashleam, Bleanaskill, Glencoe, Derreens and Cloughmore want an immediate ‘stop’ to this wholly unacceptable method of sheep and rams grazing at the side of the public roads. Only irresponsible sheep owners graze their animals on the ‘long acre’ resulting in the illegal wandering and roaming on public roads by these animals and then trespassing onto private property,” the group wrote on their Facebook page.

Last summer, a prosecution was brought against three sheep farmers for allowing their sheep to wander on the public road in Derreens and resulted in a fine for one of the farmers.

The Group state that parents are afraid to bring their children along the road because of the sheep and that the local graveyard is regularly full of sheep resulting in graves being covered in sheep droppings.

“The simple way to avoid all these potential and existing chronic issues is to insist these farmers stop this antisocial and lazy method of grazing sheep and rams.

“This method of sheep grazing in this area of Upper Achill has only prevailed in the last twenty years. Prior to this time, sheep owners would ensure their animals grazed on commonage or fenced in fields and would not allow their animals stray onto neighbour’s lands.

“Such grazing methods, despite local challenges over the years, coupled to a successful prosecution in July, 2023 are akin to social, physical and mental abuse of the local people by totally inconsiderate sheep owners and this practice continues to this day. Furthermore, these local residents are constantly cleaning and picking up sheep dropping outside their homes and have no doubt sometimes inside the home.

“We, the people of Upper Achill believe that enough is now more than enough and these grazing methods must cease. We, the people of Upper Achill have no problems with sheep farmers who tend their sheep as well as rear them in a field or enclosure or manage properly on commonage. They are doing the job properly, these farmers are a credit to our community and we wish them every success.”

The Group called on their local representatives as well as An Garda Síochána and the Department of Agriculture to assist them in stopping this method of grazing on the ‘long acre’. They also asked local people to contact them if they wish their names to be added to the group to show the authorities they want an end to this practice.

“We are requesting you, as a member of Upper Achill community to demonstrate your strength of opinion and feeling on this matter, to explain our plight to all who can assist us in stopping this antisocial practice of unsupervised long acre grazing and request that our property rights are protected in accordance with the spirit of the 1851 Animal legislation Act, Ireland.

“Currently, we are asking all local residents and their families in Upper Achill to allow us permission to use their names to quantify and demonstrate to the necessary authorities our strength of feeling on this matter and in an effort to stop the scourge of sheep and rams wandering on the public roads to graze and then trespassing on private property causing nuisance and damage,” the Group wrote.