By Lisa Ramsden
A PETITION calling for Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir to ‘do more’ to protect the now fire-ravaged Mourne mountains is growing in momentum.
The online ‘Protect Our Mourne Mountains’ petition, which can be accessed via the actnowni.org website, was launched in the wake of the fires that devastated thousands of acres across the Mournes over a number of days.
At the start of last week, Mr Muir, during a visit to Newcastle, as firefighting operations continued high above the Bloody Bridge, said these “rural arsonists” need to be treated like “pariahs”.
The petition states that the ‘destruction is vast’, with nesting birds and insects and precious peatlands being harmed, and the lives of people living nearby and first responders put at risk.
Read the full story in the current issue of the Mourne Observer.
