Oh deer! Cllrs seek cull

Wild deer were a topic of concern at a recent sitting of Cavan County Council with calls for a proper culling programme. Fianna Fáil Councillor Áine Smith raised the motion, claiming the rising number of wild deer are causing road safety concerns.

“Recently I learned of another incident caused by wild deer, which could have resulted in a serious road collision. “A parent was travelling in a jeep with a young child and a deer jumped across a ditch onto the passenger side of the vehicle resulting in the glass being shattered and falling in on the child.”

Her calls come as a national deer management strategy is being formulated by Government. A recent public consultation which found widespread support (86% of respondents) for culling.

In the 12 months to February 2022, more than 55,000 deer were culled in Ireland, according to the Irish Deer Commission with culls taking place annually.

Speaking at the May meeting of Cavan County Council, Cllr Smith outlined this was not the first time people have raised this issue with her.

“People living in rural areas tell us that they are seeing more and more wild deer. Recently a farmer sent me a photograph of a huge number of wild deer in a field very close to dwelling houses and a farm yard. Again the wild deer are in proximity to working farm yards and not out in the wild as some people might suggest.”

The Bawnboy native also explained the damages these deer are causing to crops, as well as the potential to spread TB to livestock on farms.

She suggested writing a letter to the Department of Agriculture “requesting the introduction of proper measures to deal with this issue within a short timeframe”.

Supporting the motion, Fianna Fáil Councillor Patricia Walsh referenced a narrow miss she herself had when she almost hit a deer, which was standing on the road in the dark. Fine Gael's TP O’Reilly also supported the motion, stating the overpopulation of wild deer was presenting a danger on the Virginia to Ballyjamesduff road in recent times. Joining in the debate, Cllr Aiden Fitzpatrick (FF) told the meeting “I do a bit of hunting” and stated “they’re in every townland”.

Cllr Smith thanked her colleagues for their support, and concluded something needed to be done to reduce the number of wild deer in the county.

However she deemed it important that appropriate culling procedures take place “so it’s not done wrongly by hunting people”.