Protected deer can be shot if straying away from park

THE protected Irish red deer species is to be added to the hunting list - if they stray outside Killarney National Park.

The controversial decision marks a significant policy shift by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

Licensed hunters will be entitled, under permit, to shoot the animals from September 1, according to the latest Open Seasons’ Order in the Wildlife Act.

However, deer within the national park will continue to enjoy protected status.

The Kerry Deer Society expressed disappointment at the decision, warning it could result in trophy hunters and shooting parties killing stags just for their antlers.

There had been mounting pressure from farmers and farming organisations to have the shooting ban lifted.

Deer are regularly found on private property, golf courses and farmland within a 15 to 20-mile radius of Killarney, often damaging crops.

NPWS regional manager Eamon Meskell said: “Our advice at a local level had been that the red deer should be added to the hunting list. The population has grown substantially and we will be closely monitoring the situation all the time,” he said.

Mr Meskell stressed that only licensed and properly qualified people would be given permits.

Deer counts are taken from time to time and the size of the herd is now estimated at 800 to 1,000, including 200 deer outside the National Park. Culls are also carried out within the park.

Independent councillor Danny Healy-Rae, from Kilgarvan, had already proposed that landowners be allowed shoot trespassing deer. He also said deer crossing roads in the area had caused a number of traffic accidents.

Kerry Deer Society chairman Noel Grimes, meanwhile, said: “One of our big fears now is that there will be an open season on deer outside the National Park by trophy hunters looking for antlers. We’ve already seen that.

“I have found the carcasses of three headless stags well outside the bounds of the park.”

Mr Grimes said the park authorities had never issued a full count of red deer. He said only conservation rangers should be allowed carry out the shooting.