Deer cull refusal prompts hunt application

Terrier

Irish Independent 08/03/05

A COUNTY councillor is to apply for a hunting licence to shoot deer in the wild in Kerry, after attempts to get the National Parks and Wildlife Service to carry out a cull outside the Killarney National Park failed.

Independent Fianna Fail councillor Michael Healy-Rae said deer were now so numerous on roads in the Kilgarvan and Killarney area that they were crossing the road and causing accidents, "virtually on a daily basis".

Mr Healy-Rae, who hunts game birds and foxes confirmed he is a crack-shot. His decision follows a motion he put down at a Council meeting calling for it to fence along Coillte-owned land to prevent deer roaming on to roads.

The council claimed the land had been the subject of a court case and it was found unlawful to fence in deer.

However, it was not unlawful to fence deer out; the council could fence off the road but it would cost too much. "Surely it is the same thing. If you are fencing them out of one place, aren't you fencing them into another?" Mr Healy-Rae argued.

The IFA in Kerry has also called for a cull to be carried out. They say deer are freely grazing valuable grass lands in winter. There are an estimated 3,000 Sika and Red deer in the area and there were up to a dozen reported accidents involving deer in the various districts in 2004.

Interesting to see if this will be granted, I know a good few out of seasons licences are to be granted this year...

fiacha

i also read that time is up for the fallow herd in the Phoenix Park. I asked one of the UCD boffins that have been studying the herd for the last 10+ years, and he estimates about two thirds of them will be culled in the next couple of years (400+).

not sure if they are going to be shot, or injected during one of the roundups.

Terrier

Can't see them shooting the deer in the Phoenix park, way to dangerous to use a deer calibre rifle in there...

seamus

Independent Fianna Fail councillor Michael Healy-Rae said deer were now so numerous on roads in the Kilgarvan and Killarney area that they were crossing the road and causing accidents, "virtually on a daily basis".

Ah, so it's the deer that are at fault, not the crap Killarney drivers. That solves everything. :rolleyes:

E@gle.

Terrier wrote:

Can't see them shooting the deer in the Phoenix park, way to dangerous to use a deer calibre rifle in there...

yeah i agree there are families walking through the phoenix park on a daily basis and nothing would be worse than a child being hit by high calibre rifle.#

i doubt shooting them would be an option here.

Sparks

"Surely it is the same thing. If you are fencing them out of one place, aren't you fencing them into another?" Mr Healy-Rae argued.

Who knew the Healy-Raes were mathematical topologists? :rolleyes:

civdef

Ah, so it's the deer that are at fault, not the crap Killarney drivers. That solves everything.

I'm not sure if your experience of Killarney driving skills is any more comprehensive than mine (i.e. none at all), but deer pose a serious risk to traffic. In many countries, the largest category of human deaths caused by animals is due to deer related RTA's (I swear I'm not making this up).

No matter how good a driver you are, when a deer suddenly jumps in front of a car travelling at any speed, the driver hasn't much in the way of options. Deer populations in many areas are at very high levels, increasing the likelihood of this happening.

fiacha

Terrier wrote:

Can't see them shooting the deer in the Phoenix park, way to dangerous to use a deer calibre rifle in there...

I've seen two stags being shot there (offcially) over the years. both apparently having been hit by cars. one on them was left in the field for two days before being removed. both of them were shot within 50 yards of chesterfield avenue, close to the castleknock gate.

civdef

E@gle. wrote:

i doubt shooting them would be an option here.

Apparently the OPW doesn't agree...

Monday, February 14 2005
450 deer to be culled in the Phoenix Park

Over 450 deer in the Phoenix Park are to be killed as part of a major cull of the historic herd. Some 50 adult deer were shot in the park last week, and more culling is to take place on specified days over the coming weeks. The current round of culling will reduce the size of the herd from 800 to about 630, according to a spokesman for the Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for managing the park.


The overall objective of the cull is to reduce the herd to about 350 deer, which is regarded as the maximum carrying capacity of the park, he said.

A number of members of the public who chanced upon the killing of deer last week contacted radio programmes to speak of their distress at what they witnessed.

However, the OPW spokesman defended the manner in which the cull is being carried out, saying it was "humane" and "as natural as possible".

He said the cull had been carried out following extensive consultation with the mammal research department in UCD, which had examined the blood lines of individual deer. Individual adult deer had been identified as suitable candidates for killing, which was not carried out at random.

Culled deer are shot in the head in the wild, under supervision by a vet. "We don't corral them; we stalk them," the spokesman explained.

Their carcasses are sold and much of the meat ends up being sold in supermarkets or served up in restaurants.

The spokesman said every effort was made to ensure culling was carried out as discreetly as possible away from public view.

Fallow deer have roamed the Phoenix Park, which was set up as specifically for this purpose, since 1680. Although the current herd is healthy, traffic poses a considerable risk to the safety of both deer and drivers.

Last year, between 40 and 50 deer were killed in collisions with motorists. This is down from about 100 deaths a year in the mid-1990s, partly because roundabouts have been installed on the long, central road through the park and partly because increasingly volumes have slowed traffic.

Deer culls have taken place intermittently in the park's recent history. During the second World War, when the herd rose to 1,000 in size, up to 900 deer were shot in a six-month period in 1942/43.
Paul Cullen
© The Irish Times

Irishglockfan

No great loss.Hunters that have seen the Kerry herd,reckon it is very badly interbred and weak,with no great trophy potential.Not surprising as there is no way for some fresh genes to be introduced.Next question,will this herd be culled scientifically,taking weak stock or a just shoot anything to get the numbers down exercise?Or is this just another Healy Rae political stunt??Wonder will he take the Irish stalking test?

civdef

Haely Rae got himself a very noticeable picture in today's Times anyway, with himself in full DPM carrying a Remy 700 and striking a "resolved" pose.

Sparks

He wasn't wearing the leather flat cap this time, was he civ?