ICSA Animal Health & Welfare chair Hugh Farrell has welcomed progress being made by the Deer Management Strategy Group in tackling the deer issue following a stakeholder meeting in Portlaoise yesterday (27 April). “Feedback from the Consultation on the Management of Deer in Ireland conducted by the group, and which amassed more than 1,500 responses, confirms there is strong public support for dealing with the explosion in deer numbers. Uncontrolled growth in deer is not good for biodiversity, for road safety, or for farming,” he said.

 “In regard to farming the link between deer and the spread of TB has been established; deer are part of the TB infection problem, and this cannot be ignored. However, the establishment of the Deer Management Strategy Group and the work it is undertaking is a signal, that, at last, after years of ICSA lobbying, there is now a government recognition that something must be done. The days of turning a blind eye to uncontrolled expansion of deer and the impact on TB are surely over.”

 Mr Farrell said, “It is clear we need better information about how many deer are in the country, but it is beyond question that numbers have exploded. In ICSA we regularly receive complaints from members with land adjacent to forestry that deer are breaking into and eating fields clean of grass. The key now is for the group to devise an action plan and government must step up to the plate to support this with necessary funds and accountability.”