Wildlife crime in Ireland increasing with deer at huge risk

Wildlife crime in Ireland is on the increase and deer are at huge risk, particularly in counties like Kerry, Tipperary and Wicklow, the Irish Deer Commission has said.

Wildlife crime in Ireland is on the increase and deer are at huge risk, particularly in counties like Kerry, Tipperary and Wicklow, the Irish Deer Commission (IDC) has said.

The IDC - a deer conservation and management body - have launched a campaign urging the public to report armed illegal hunters who are running down wild deer and often bludgeoning them to death in the Irish countryside.

The Keep Deer Poaching in Sight has been developed with input from wildlife rangers with the NPWS, of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, along with the Gardaí, An Coillte, game councils, as well as the Irish countryside alliance, the British Deer Society and the Deer Alliance.

"Wild deer are a protected species under our Wildlife Acts and an important part of our natural heritage," spokesman Damien Hannigan said.

However criminals are increasingly exploiting deer for financial gain, creating animal welfare issues as well as a risk to human health.

Poaching and wildlife crime was a major criminal activity across Europe and wildlife crime now generated the highest illegal income for criminals after drug importation firearms and human trafficking, he said.

Deer as a species needed to be managed to protect farmland, forestry and the wider ecosystem but this was best achieved via licensed hunters and wildlife managers, Mr Hannigan said.

Deer were being run down by dogs and shot or bludgeoned to death after powerful spotlight lamps were used to confuse and blind them. Powerful vehicles were also being used.

Deer managers were increasingly coming across evidence that sophisticated night vision equipment was being used.

"The use of powerful lamps to confuse wild deer where they are then shot or set upon by dogs and bludgeoned to death, or increasingly the use of night vision equipment, coursing deer with dogs, and armed trespass are just some of the illegal activities we see," Mr Hannigan said.

Deer were also being snared and most of the activity was nighttime.

The illegal killing of wild deer was putting the whole management and conservation of deer at risk, along with livestock and rural communities are at risk of harm or serious injury.

So serious has the problem become, the Gardaí have now appointed liaison inspectors in all 28 Garda Division and these will specialise in the detection and prosecution of wildlife crime under the Wildlife Acts.

The IDC was urging the public in rural Ireland to be on the lookout for deer poaching and to report suspicious activity to the local garda station or and to wildlife conservation rangers.

File image.

However, they warned against direct approaches to the gangs of poachers. Instead, they should take down vehicle details and exact locations and contact the gardaí or the wildlife with the information.

Meanwhile, a walk to listen to the 6,000-year-old Killarney Red Deer Rut is taking place this year on Sunday, October 13, in the national park.

The Red Deer breeding season is known as the Rut, when stags gather the hinds, roaring out enter battle against other stags

"The Rut is one of nature's amazing annual spectacles and has taken place continuously in Co Kerry for over 6,000 years," Mr Hannigan said.

Organised by the Irish Deer Commission in conjunction with the Department of Culture, Heritage and Gaeltacht, the walk is free of charge, family-friendly and suitable for all fitness levels.

There will be a number of speakers on the day and a collection of antlers to view.

Places are limited and must be booked in advance at www.irishdeercommission.ie