Video: Longford man devastated following pine martens attack on his hens and partridges

Seventy-four-year-old retired gamekeeper Jeff Taylor explained that a pine marten chewed through the fence of the hatch at the back of his home where he reared the hens and partridges.

He was particularly upset by death of his ‘rare English grey partridges’ which he described as his ‘pet conservation project’.

Mr Taylor said he was in absolutely no doubt that his birds were attacked by pine martens.

“I was almost in tears when I woke up and came out and saw my partridges had been killed. It is so horrible and pointless."

Mr Taylor claimed pine martens were ‘absolutely out of control’ and he called on Parks and Wildlife to order a cull.

He added, “I don’t mean exterminate them. You can’t annihilate a species but we have to be allowed to control them to get them to an acceptable level."

For more on this story see this week's Longford Leader

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