A cull of Co Waterford's deer population is required, according to several west Waterford councillors.
The matter, which had been raised previously by Cllr Damien Geoghegan (FG), was expanded upon by Dungarvan/Lismore District Chair Tom Cronin (FF) while speaking during the December District meeting, according to the Waterford News and Star.
Cllr Cronin referred to a recent car accident which involved deer crossing the road.
"The deer population has grown and at this stage I think we’ll have to bring in a cull because if we don’t, it’s going to cause a lot of trouble down the road and there’s going to be a lot more (deer-related) accidents," he said.
Responding on October 20 last to an email from the Council Chief Executive’s Office, Cyril Saich, the District Conservation Officer at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Housing wrote: “Anecdotally, I do recognise that there are significant deer populations in parts of County Waterford.”
Mr Saich continued: “The NPWS do issue licences to deer hunters to shoot deer during the normal hunting season (which runs from September 1 to February 28) and also issue licences under Sec. 42 of the Wildlife Act to shoot deer that are causing serious damage to crops or livestock etc outside the normal hunting season.
“Where there are road safety issues from deer in the county, it is usually the local authority that places signage at these locations to alert motorists to the presence of deer in the area. It may be useful to consider a more prominent/different type of sign than the standard ‘leaping deer’ in areas of high deer density to alert motorists to their presence.”
Cllr Declan Doocey (FG) called the deer numbers a "huge problem".
Mr Doocey said: “I came on a herd of deer recently down in Glendine (west of the Blackwater on approach to Youghal) where they swim the river there across from a wooded area in Ballinaclash… and it’s the same in Colligan. I read recently where they had a natural cull of 60 deer in the Phoenix Park and when they have to do that in a farm, in a controlled area, then you can imagine the problems there are in the wild where there is no control over it – so it’s very important to make progress on this. They’re an awful danger, they’d jump a car and break a windscreen with a kick.”
According to an Agriland report dated September 8th, 2021, a total of 5,253 deer hunting licences were issued for the current season. This is a slight decrease on the figure of 5,344 recorded in 2020.
A deer hunting licence, which requires completing a certified training course, will be required for all first-time applicants in the coming season.
