Public agrees with deer culling as numbers grow

Faallow deer in the Phoenix park in Dublin. Pic Tony Maxwell

The impact of unsustainable invasive deer populations in many parts of the country can be devastating, particularly to native forests, says the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in its report on public consultation for a shared forest vision for Ireland.

It said 82% of respondents to an online survey agreed that managing deer, including culling, is necessary.

Invasive flora and fauna, including deer, and their impact on forest establishment and management is a key issue for the sustainability of forests in Ireland, said the department.

In the 3,148 responses to an online consultation survey for the department in the spring, there was wide support (55%-85%) for an all-island sustainable deer management policy with control measures, a single authority to keep a deer database and implement management policy, a new deer hunting strategy, and development of a domestic venison market.

No Irish national census of deer populations has been carried out, but the department’s localised annual deer counts on State lands indicate deer species are increasing in range and numbers.

Meanwhile, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in the UK has proposed a new drive to sustainably manage the UK’s wild deer population, estimated to have increased from 450,000 in the 1970s to 2m now.

Defra says the population brings risks and issues, such as a substantial threat to young trees and woodlands and to the ambitions to increase England’s tree cover from 14.5% to 17.5% by 2050, to absorb 600,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Among proposed UK deer measures are allowing land managers to cull male deer throughout the year, not just in the open season, and to carry out night shooting.

The UK deer population is estimated to be at a 1,000-year peak. Defra estimates deer reduce the final UK timber crop value by 30%-50% through browsing damage. Deer can also cause significant crop and agricultural damage, with some individual UK landowners having lost over £1m per year to deer damage. And overpopulation leads to deer malnourishment and increased disease spread.

Defra aims for a well-managed and healthy wild deer population that does not threaten long-term environmental, social, or economic sustainability. It recommends development of a wild venison market as a carbon-positive, healthy meat from sustainable woodland management, with venison sales helping landowners to offset deer management costs.

It recommends development of a wild venison market as a carbon-positive, healthy meat from sustainable woodland management, with venison sales helping landowners to offset deer management costs. 

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DEFRA notes that shooting deer at night can be particularly effective if the animals have become nocturnal.

In Ireland, deer may be controlled by landowners in accordance with the Wildlife Acts, by way of licensed hunting during the open season (generally from September 1 to February 28, but depending on the species and gender of deer).

The National Parks and Wildlife Service considers applications and where appropriate, issues licenses to allow hunting of wild deer. However, from this month, it is a requirement for first-time applicants seeking a deer hunting licence to complete an approved certified deer hunting training course. About 5,500 deer hunting licences have been issued each year, of which about 1,000 have been first-time applicants.

Deer cull figures compiled by the Irish Deer Management Forum from 1995 to 2015, based on returns by licensed hunters, showed a gradual increase in the annual cull from 4,749 deer in 1995 to 31,589 deer in 2015.

In the UK, Defra and the Forestry Commission recently launched a four-week consultation, suggesting several approaches to deer management, including incentives to landowners, and advice on how to protect crops and woodland.

The Welsh government targets 43,000 hectares of tree planting by 2030, 180,000 hectares by 2050. Scotland has a target of planting 18,000 hectares of new woodland annually by 2025. These targets play a major role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Culling wild deer can protect forests, but will not count directly towards reducing emissions, even though a deer emits 31.5 grams of methane per day, compared to a cow's 140.4 grams (according to New Zealand research findings).

The UK has an estimated 2m deer, compared to 9.4m cattle and calves.

But the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change does not consider emissions from natural wild ruminants in the calculation of a country’s emission estimate. It says emissions should only be considered from animals under domestic management.