AG’s biodiversity takes another hop in the right direction

Found only in Ireland, the Irish hare is a subspecies of the mountain hare. Once widespread and common, the species is believed to have declined significantly since the 1970’s. A small population has existed for several years at our Ballygawley site, with up to a max of nine animals, seen in springtime by company employees.  The company take all steps feasible to protect them with drivers of all our vehicles aware of their presence.

Hares are much larger than rabbits and have long back legs with very big feet. Females are slightly bigger than males and can weigh up to 4kg. Ed. O’Hara, Conservation Officer, AG Group outlined the future plans to introduce more hospitable habitats for the animals in Ballygawley:

“With the decline in this species, it is refreshing to see this population of Hares thrive in an industrial landscape due to the help and consideration of AG employees. In 2017 we hope to set up in our Ballgawley site several small ‘green oasis ‘ areas that fringe the plant as part of our continuing environmental commitment.”

Biodiversity conservation is an important part of our environmental management at all AG sites. You can find out more about our continuous work on Biodiversity and Sustainability in the Our Company section of our website.