Farmers have been told to check their land deeds to see if their farms have been designated without their knowledge as conservation areas for saving Hen Harriers.
Nearly 160,000 hectares of land in the State have been set aside as special areas for the conservation of one of Ireland's rarest birds.
It has been estimated that the breeding population of the Hen Harrier has fallen to between 120 and 140 breeding pairs.
Now, according to Gerry Gunning of the Irish Farmers' Association, such a designation as a conservation area for the bird, will be registered on the land folio of the farms involved.He said while some farmers welcomed the designation of their lands as conservation areas, some did not.
"The designations will be entered on the deeds of farms and then that becomes a liability on the farm and could affect the sale value of land because it could limit land use," he said.
Annual payments of between €50 and €282 per hectare are being made to farmers depending on whether or not they are in the Rural Environment Protection Scheme for the protection of the bird.
