Wild deer an issue for State

FARMERS and other private landowners are losing patience over damage caused by roaming wild deer, some of which stray outside the bounds of State property such as national parks.

In Kerry, for instance, deer are regularly found 30km and more away from Killarney National Park which has around 1,000 red and Japanese sika deer. Farming organisations and politicians have been calling on the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) to erect proper fencing to keep deer within the boundaries of the park. They say the State should be responsible for its deer as farmers are for their livestock.

Sean Sweeney gave us a guided tour of his land in the Tomies area, on the western shore of Killarney’s lower lake (Lough Lein). He pointed to numerous tracks made by deer through which they managed to get over ditches, through wire fences and onto his land.