The president of the Irish Farmers' Association, Mr John Dillon, said yesterday he did not condone the killing of a hen harrier, whose body was sent to the Kerryman newspaper last week.
The IFA president had told a meeting of farmers that "when this fellow appeared in the sky, the first thing we got was the gun to sort him out."
A report of this protest meeting by farmers against restrictions being placed on them to save the bird appeared in the Limerick Leader under the headline: "Shoot the Bastards".
This prompted the Friends of the Irish Environment to call on Mr Dillon to condemn last week's killing of a member of the endangered species, which has a breeding population of only 33 in the south west and only 102 breeding pairs nationally.
A spokesman said Mr Dillon was inciting farmers to "destroy the remaining protected birds to prevent further restrictions on farming activities.
"We know that the vast majority of farmers are conscientious and responsible citizens but are reluctant to publicly oppose their leader. Now responsible people in the IFA must speak out," he said. But yesterday, through his press office, Mr Dillon said that he had never used the language, "Shoot the Bastards".
"The president does not condone the illegal activity of shooting the bird and sending it to a newspaper," said the spokesman. "However, he does understand the frustration of farmers."