Five cold storage larders for deer carcasses have now arrived in Ireland and are being prepared for installation at strategic locations within designated Deer Management Units (DMUs).

According to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon, the larders will be installed in key deer "hotspot" areas.

Minister Heydon believes this will help to provide vital infrastructure to support "sustainable wild deer population management and the development of Ireland’s wild venison sector".

The Sinn Féin TD for Carlow-Kilkenny, Natasha Newsome Drennan, had raised a query with the minister in relation to both the cost of the larders and also the proposed location for the larders.

Minister Heydon told Deputy Newsome Drennan that the new larders will be installed in key deer hotspot areas, including Wicklow, Roscommon, Tipperary, Kilkenny and Limerick.

According to the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group (IDMSG), the purchase and use of refrigerated cold storage units are recognised as "essential elements" in supporting sustainable wild deer population management and the development of Ireland’s wild venison sector.

The minister has highlighted that these larders will "facilitate the safe and hygienic storage of deer carcasses harvested" during targeted culling operations, enabling hunters and game handlers to efficiently consolidate and manage multiple carcasses for processing.

Deer carcasses

The minister confirmed that funding of €454,491.15 (inclusive of VAT) had been approved to buy five refrigerated cold storage units by the programme manager for the implementation of the Deer Management Strategy Group report.

"In addition, over €50,000 has been incurred to date in respect of associated planning, site preparation works and ancillary costs," he added.

According to Minister Heydon planning permission applications are currently in progress for each location and it is anticipated that all the larders will be "fully operational" in advance of the forthcoming hunting season in September.

The Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food heard last month how deer numbers have been increasing significantly in recent years and the issues that this has created for farmers and landowners.

The National Association of Regional Game Councils (NARGC) - the country's largest hunting association - told the committee that deer culls should be "carried out on a more concentrated basis" with a "mobile cold-room" nearby to store carcasses.