A cull of the lowland herd of the unique Killarney red deer by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has come under fire.

Gun owners have accused gardaí of hiding information on firearm thefts to make the threat to public safety appear worse.

In recent decades, Ireland’s deer population has reached almost unprecedented levels.

Lives are being put at risk by deer poachers using high-powered rifles in rural areas at night, it was claimed yesterday.

Motorists in areas frequented by deer are being urged to be especially careful during the current mating season.

Unprecedented poaching is threatening the deer population in many parts of the country, according to hunters.

AFTER a recent three-week period where the headless carcasses of five deer were found around Killarney, another similarly disfigured animal raised further fears for the safety of the species.

THE Department of the Environment has confirmed that deer stalking will not be affected by a contentious bill to ban stag hunting.

FOR the first time in Ireland, licensed deer stalkers will be called out byfarmers to shoot protected species of wild deer if they are damaging crops, forests or causing traffic accidents.

Wild deer roaming the countryside will be culled by conservationists in a bid to protect farmlands and maintain herds humanely, it emerged today.