National Association loses challenge to duck hunting ban

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The National Association of Regional Game Council and John Butler lost their High Court challenge to the ban on hunting four duck species. The proceedings were reported on 19 August 2026.

Judge Anthony Barr ruled that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage acted lawfully in restricting hunting of pintail, pochard, scaup and goldeneye ducks. The order made hunting those species unlawful after 24 August 2023.

Barr said the minister had wide discretion under the Wildlife Act 1976 and was not required to consider economic or recreational factors. He accepted Irish Wetlands Bird Survey data showing significant population declines as robust and reliable.

The judge also rejected the association’s argument that the absence of hunters’ bag data undermined the ban, noting that the group had deliberately withheld such information from the minister.