The Department of Defence is to clamp down on sheep grazing on the Curragh.

New rules on the branding and documentation of sheep on the plains are to keep control of numbers, prevent over-grazing and address animal welfare issues, the department told the Irish Farmers Journal.

The 1870 Curragh of Kildare Act awarded flock owners who owned land next to the Curragh the right to graze sheep on the plains.

The grazing rights are free of charge and apply to the entire plains except the Curragh Camp and Curragh Racecourse.

There are currently 6,013 grazing rights owned by around 150 landowners and used by between 25 and 30 flock owners.

However, the Department of Defence said it could not give an accurate number of sheep grazing on the Curragh in any particular year.

Branding

The new rules will require flock owners to brand all sheep grazing on the plains.

“These revised procedures include a requirement for all flock owners to provide the property management branch of the department directly with all of the required documentation, which outlines their details, numbers of sheep, number of grazing rights, etc, in order to ensure all sheep are branded with the department’s brand prior to being permitted to put their sheep out to graze on the Curragh,” a department spokesperson said.

The Department of Defence will also be engaging with flock owners on overgrazing in certain areas of the Curragh and animal welfare.