Deer slayings spark safety fears

GROWING concerns are being voiced about threats to public safety from the shooting and poaching of wild deer.

Trophy hunters have been blamed for the recent illegal shooting of five Red Deer stags in the general Killarney area.

Kerry county councillor John Joe Culloty urged the National Parks and Wildlife Service to re-deploy staff to help control the illegal shootings in which stags are being slaughtered and beheaded.

Mr Culloty said he supported a control of wild deer numbers, but he expressed serious concerns for the safety of residents because of the shootings.

He said a tagging system and proper controls would end the inhumane practice of deer poaching.

Due to the road traffic hazards posed by deer, and their trespassing on farmland and private property, there are increasing calls for a census and a cull of the deer population.

Independent councillor Danny Healy-Rae claimed people were “putting up with torment and torture” from deer which were causing major damage, especially in the Killarney and Kilgarvan areas.

Killarney National Park has about 1,400 red and sika deer, some of which stray up to 30kms outside the park’s boundaries.

Frank McMahon, district conservation officer of the wildlife service, said over 100 Sika deer were shot in Killarney National Park annually.

The authorities, he indicated, continued to cull deer to reduce the numbers of grazing animals and to create exclusion zones to allow for woodland regeneration.

However, he told the council it was extremely difficult to do a survey because of the shy nature of the animals and the fact a large amount of forestry provided cover for them.