Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, along with Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcom Noonan, have published a report on developing a sustainable deer management strategy.
The report comes from the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group (IDMSG), chaired by Teddy Cashman, which was set up to lead the development of a strategy for the management of wild deer in Ireland.
The development of the report involved a public consultation, stakeholder meetings and stakeholder sub-committees, which led to the formation of a series of recommendations.
Deer management report
The report lists 15 ‘Actions’, eight of which are recommended for early implementation.
These recommended actions address a wide range of issues from hunter training and forest design to land use management and the venison market.
The ministers have said that there was an overarching consensus on three of these: The establishment of local deer management units in known hotspot areas; a review of the current deer Open Seasons Order; and researching the viability of the development of an independent deer management agency.
Commenting on the report, Teddy Cashman said: “This kind of constructive collaboration will be key to the successful implementation of the deer management programme.”
Minister McConalogue added: “The growing deer population is a considerable problem and I will be actioning the recommendations immediately in the new year.
“This will include the creation of a deer management agency, the establishment of local deer management units and changes to the Open Seasons order.
“Progress from this strategy group, chaired by Teddy Cashman, with officials from my department, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) and Coillte, is very welcome.
“For agriculture, our natural ecosystems and in particular our forestry ambitions, it is important that we have sustainable management of our national wild deer population,” he added.
“However the impact of deer proliferation extends far beyond this to road safety, animal health, public health, and not least the health and welfare of the deer themselves.”
Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan said: “An overabundance of any species can be highly damaging to biodiversity.
“In the case of wild deer, the most significant and obvious impact is on native woodlands. Deer browsing can prevent the natural regeneration of these habitats and inhibit their expansion, which is a particularly serious issue in ancient and long-established woodlands and can also devastate newly-planted woodlands.
“Preventing wild deer from accessing these precious habitats is not easy and can be very resource intensive.
“I’m pleased to welcome this report and the pathway it sets out towards the sustainable management of wild deer populations in Ireland, which will also bring benefits for farmland, forestry and road safety, as well as nature,” he added.
The current Deer Management Strategy Group will develop and advance an initial implementation plan in relation to the short-term recommendations of the report and report back to minsters within nine months.
Deer
Overgrazing by deer is a serious pressure and threat for native woodlands across Ireland, including the Annex I woodland types listed under the EU’s Habitats Directive, according to the department.
Deer densities in Wicklow in particular, but also in parts of Tipperary, Waterford, Donegal and Galway, are above a sustainable level for land management activities and are impacting on farming, forestry, nature conservation and biodiversity, according to the ministers.
They have said that it is widely accepted that wild deer numbers have risen sharply in recent years, exacerbated by the reduction in hunting and deer management activity during the Covid-19 pandemic, which due to travel and socialising restrictions, resulted in a challenging venison market.
Recommendations for deer strategy
All of the recommendations of the sub-committees were reviewed by the IDMSG with some common themes emerging across the groups.
The strategy group has highlighted short- and medium-term actions that came through that process.
Among the short-term actions will be the appointment of a programme manager to set up deer management units with local coordinators
Deer Management Units will be set up, in critical/hot spot areas initially, following on from localised stakeholder meetings.
The deer Open Seasons Order will be revised to align with the current dates in Northern Ireland in the first instance.
The group will also investigate the feasibility of establishing a Deer Management Agency and will investigate support incentives necessary for national deer management programme.
More medium-term actions include a review the results of feasibility of setting up a Deer Management Agency.
Recommendations also include securing changes to legislation following a review of Wildlife Acts and other deer related legislation.
There will also be engagement with state bodies to develop a structured deer management policy on state lands and phased certification for all hunters over the next three to five years.