Hungry deer from Killarney National Park are encroaching into neighbouring farmland

Deer are breeding in the park but have moved 'well beyond their usual circumference' say frustrated farmers. 

The mayor of Killarney Brendan Cronin and representatives of the IFA have raised the issue of deer in Killarney National Park encroaching on neighbouring farm land. File Picture

Farmers in Killarney have called on the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), to buy winter fodder for deer driven by hunger on to their farms.

The mayor of Killarney Brendan Cronin said today that the park has to address the issue of deer which have gone “well beyond their usual circumference”, and the anger and frustration of farmers and landowners.

Deer are breeding within the park but are not staying there, Mr Cronin said.

Deer are grazing outside park

Red deer were now to be found in large numbers grazing on lands to the west around Tomies and Beaufort and east to Kilcummin, he said.

Grassland within the park which is leased to contractors could be used for the deer, the mayor said.

Farmers and landowners were getting extremely angry with the situation which had got completely out of hand, the mayor said.

There are an estimated 2,000 red deer and sika deer in and around the national park in Killarney. Numbers of sika deer within and outside the park have exploded this year with restrictions on recreational hunting and a lack of demand for venison because of the pandemic.

IFA call for national stragegy

“The situation with deer in and around the National Park in Killarney further highlights the need for a nationally co-ordinated deer management strategy that ensures deer numbers are reduced to levels that can be maintained within their natural habitat," the Irish Farmers' Association (IFA) said.

Farmers throughout the country are seeing greater levels of deer encroachment onto their lands, introducing the threat of disease, and damaging crops and fences. There is also an increasing danger for road users, the IFA said.

The farm organisation said it has “continuously identified the lack of a nationally coordinated strategy to manage our deer population within its own environment”.

The National Deer Management Forum set up by Government has not functioned for a number of years and must be reconvened as a matter of urgency.  

Its sole purpose was to address this very issue and nothing has happened in this area other than the continual increase in the deer population and further encroachments onto farmlands.

'Selective culling is necessary'

The Irish Deer Commission has said the only solution long term is continuous deer management with gradual and selective culling.

Meanwhile, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is in charge of the NPWS, said it is working towards sustainable herd management and is carrying out culls as part of that strategy.