Donal Hickey: Deer numbers are now out of control

The number of deer reported shot during the hunting season has quadrupled in the past 20 years

Bringing back natural predators, such as wolves to control deer numbers would be strongly opposed. Picture: Don MacMonagle

Moves to bring back natural predators, such as wolves, would be strongly opposed, even by some of the people most affected by the exploding deer population, farmers for example. But something must be done to deal with out-of-control deer numbers. Game shooters, in Co Cork, say they are meeting more deer than pheasants or woodcock. That’s also true in many other areas.

We don’t know how many wild deer there are in Ireland. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage says no national deer census has been undertaken and none is planned. But, an almost five-fold increase in licence returns from deer hunters, in the past 20 years, offers some idea of population size.

Deer reported shot during the hunting season rose steadily from around 10,000 in 2000 to more than 30,000 in 2010, reaching over 40,000, in 2018. By 2019, it had hit 44,000, according to a department spokesperson.

Donal Hickey: Deer are regarded the same as other wild animals and are free to roam.

“However, it should be noted that while the National Parks and Wildlife Service does licence hunting of deer, this department does not own the deer population and is not responsible for the management of deer populations generally,” he said.

The department is only responsible for deer in state-owned lands, like national parks, where localised counts and culls are carried out. Elsewhere, deer are regarded the same as other wild animals and are free to roam. Impacted landowners can apply for licences to shoot the deer.

Deer can also damage forestry and young trees; cause traffic accidents, spread Lyme disease to people and TB to cattle. They can also interfere with other wildlife, like ground-nesting birds and insects.

The department confirmed our three species of wild deer — red, Sika and fallow — are all increasing in range. No surprise then that we continue to get reports of deer in areas where they were never seen before. Given that a female deer can produce a fawn each year, it’s easy to see how quickly the population can grow, especially without predators like wolves and lynx.

Venison is flagged as a quality, organic food, so why can’t it be an alternative to beef?

As well as shooting, other means of controlling numbers need to be looked at. In America, contraception is being tried, with at least two vaccines being used. However, contraception is of limited success and only works in certain conditions.

And what about venison production at a time when we’re being urged to move away from beef to against climate change. Venison is flagged as a quality, organic food, so why can’t it be an alternative to beef?

Clearly, there’s no single solution to the deer problem, but its calls for some lateral thinking. And some government department has to act.