MR Niall Andrews MEP has called for new legislation to stop overseas visitors illegally shooting protected birds in Ireland.
Mr Andrews said the most disturbing fact was that tourist shooters were primarily interested in bagging migratory birds. He also claimed that game bag returns did not tally with figures submitted by shoot promoters to the Wildlife Service.
Mr Des Crofton, spokesman for the National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC), said a dead swan and a live woodcock both protected species had been discovered in the bags of an Italian and a French shooter respectively at Dublin Airport. He said they had not been prosecuted under the Wildlife Act.