Ice cream van driver caught illegally hunting in North Cork fined

An ice cream van driver from Cork city has been convicted of unlawful hunting or entry on land contrary to Section 44 of the Wildlife Act, 1976 in relation to an incident in North Cork in 2023.

Inspector Jason Wallace told Fermoy District Court that a landowner near Rathcormac reported suspicious activity on his land just before midnight on August 29, 2023. Several males with dogs were observed hunting on the land but did not have permission to do so.

When gardaí arrived two males with lurcher dogs were observed walking out through a farmyard in possession of a large lamp of type used to locate prey. One of the men was identified as James Williams, a 25-year-old ice cream vendor with an address at Churchfield Gardens, Churchfield, Cork. 

The court heard that Williams admitted he did not have permission to be on the land and had 12 previous convictions.

Ingrained

Defence solicitor, David O’Meara, said that Williams lived with his grandmother in Churchfield and said that he was walking on the public road at the time. Mr O’Meara said there was an “ingrained” culture of hunting on the northside of Cork city which traditionally had seen hunters enter farmlands even though they may not have had permission.

Judge Colm Roberts said “it wouldn’t take a genius to join the dots” in regards to what the men were doing that night. He said that calling the activity hunting gave it “a kind of grandeur” which he thought it did not deserve. He said: “You are talking about little bunnies and two lurchers, it’s a massacre. This is not a sport, it’s blood thirsty.”

Williams was convicted, fined €250 and given three months to pay the fine.

• This article is funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.