Cork father and son ‘simply strayed’ onto deer hunting land
A Cork father and son with hunting firearms had “strayed” onto lands leased by a deer hunting company in the Clydagh Valley near Killarney, a court was told.
Michael Byrd, aged 64, and his son Darren, aged 22, of Templeacre Avenue, Gurranabrahar, Cork, were captured on cameras set up to monitor wildlife.
Sgt Kieran O’Connell outlined at Killarney District Court how Irish Deer Hunting had a five-year lease on 987 hectares of An Coillte Forrest at Clydaghroe, the Clydagh Valley.
Irish Deer Hunting had set up cameras to monitor wildlife and when the footage was downloaded they found vehicles and people with firearms on the lands on October 14, 2017, November 11, 2017, and November 18, 2017.
The vehicle numbers were legible and when the defendants Michael and Darren Byrd were identified from the vehicle numbers, they the made full admissions, the sergeant said.
“They didn’t have a permit to hunt on the lands,” the sergeant said. The firearms were legally held and there was no evidence of shots fired on the leased lands.
They were “fully co-operative” and had no previous convictions, the sergeant also said.
Solicitor Liam Ryan said the Byrds had permission to go onto adjoining lands and had “strayed”.
Mr Byrd worked as a security guard and had never been in trouble, and his son Darren was a hard-working roofing contractor who also had never been in trouble.
“This is inadvertence. They are not from the area and simply strayed,” said Mr Ryan.
The lands were leased by Irish Deer Hunting for the purpose of deer hunting, the judge was told. “Not a shot was fired,” Mr Ryan assured Judge David Waters.
The summonses were issued under the wildlife acts and the father and son pleaded guilty to carrying a firearm capable of deer or bird hunting without having permission from the owner or occupier who was entitled to the sporting rights.
Judge David Waters said he would apply the Probation Act, meaning there would be no conviction, given they had no previous convictions.
