Countryside Alliance Ireland responds to Northern Ireland’s Nature Recovery Strategy

Countryside Alliance Ireland has submitted its formal response to the draft Nature Recovery Strategy, welcoming its commitment to halting and reversing biodiversity loss across Northern Ireland. While supportive of the five strategic objectives, Countryside Alliance Ireland is calling for active countryside management, including hunting with dogs and other traditional country pursuits, to be recognised as a vital part of conservation.

The strategy sets out ambitious goals to protect habitats, reduce pressures on biodiversity, promote sustainable land use, mainstream nature across society, and strengthen evidence-based decision-making. Countryside Alliance Ireland believes these objectives can be most effectively achieved by involving rural communities and those who actively manage the countryside.

Gary McCartney, Regional Director for Countryside Alliance Ireland, said:

“Responsible country pursuits are not at odds with conservation, they are a vital part of it. Country pursuits, hunting and other traditional activities contribute to species monitoring, habitat management, predator-prey balance and community stewardship. They help deliver the strategy’s aims while supporting thriving rural communities.”

In our response, the Countryside Alliance Ireland highlighted the practical benefits of hunting and other countryside pursuits for biodiversity:

• Monitoring wildlife: Hunters and their dogs provide valuable data on species distribution and population trends
• Maintaining habitats: Activity across wetlands, grasslands, hedgerows, and uplands helps sustain a mosaic of habitats crucial for pollinators, ground-nesting birds and waterfowl
• Supporting ecological balance: Responsible management of predators and pests helps protect vulnerable species
• Promoting stewardship: Traditional pursuits foster knowledge transfer and long-term care of the countryside

Countryside Alliance Ireland has also urged DAERA to rural-proof environmental policies and ensure that legislation does not unintentionally restrict responsible countryside management. It called for the inclusion of hunter-led citizen science and observational data into biodiversity monitoring frameworks to strengthen the evidence base.

The countryside is a working landscape. By recognising and supporting traditional practices, we can achieve better outcomes for biodiversity, communities and the environment.

Countryside Alliance Ireland’s submission reinforces the importance of partnership with rural communities in delivering nature recovery, ensuring that those who live and work in the countryside are active participants in conservation, not sidelined by it.