TRAFFIC AT A SNAILS PACE
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Angistora Vertiego Is not popular at Kildare County Council. That is because the council's IRE45m plan to solve one of Ireland's main traffic bottlenecks has been souppered by this rare species of snail. After a complaint to the European Commission by An Taisce's Natural Environment Group, work on the Kildare bypass was suspended because it would threaten the future of Poilardstown Fen, 4km away. Chairman Tony Lowes explains; I think the snail is a bit of a red herring (joke there somewhere). This is not just about one species—it is about the whole ecology of the fen."
The threat is that when the bypass is dug, five million gallons of water will have to be drained from the marshland. A new plan could take up to four years, but it might be worth it to save all those homeless snails wandering the streets...