Extending the hunting season for deer will “do nothing” to address excess numbers, but “will in fact make the situation worse”, according to the Irish Deer Society.
The comments follow a decision by government to change the Deer Open Seasons Order to allow for the continuation of the hunting of female and antlerless deer until March 31, 2024 and males until April 30, 2024.
The 2024/2025 male hunting season will also begin at the earlier date of August 1, 2024.
Minister for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue said the changes came in response to a key recommendation from the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group (IDMSG).
“Extending the open season will provide land owners with greater flexibility for deer management and should, with time, help us to bring deer back to sustainable levels locally and nationally,” Minister Noonan said.
Irish Deer Society
Established in 1968, the Irish Deer Society, which opposes the changes, has a primary aim to “ensure the welfare of deer and their habitat in a sustainable and balanced manner”.
“We recognise the culling of deer is necessary to maintain this balance. A secondary aim is to ensure that culling of deer is carried out in a humane and well regulated manner,” Neil Forde, PRO for the Irish Deer Society, said.
Forde, who has been hunting deer for 40 years, claimed that there is a “scarcity or complete lack of knowledge of deer management among those making a decision to change the existing open season”.
He said that the extension of the male season in particular is “a major error by the ministers”.
“Looking at deer from the perspective of animal husbandry, which should be an easy concept for livestock farmers to understand , if you want to increase your herd number you conserve the female and select out the best stud animal.
“A nine month season on male deer mitigates against a reduction in numbers by hunters as it will see a concentration of effort in culling large heavy deer rather than smaller female and yearling males.
“This nine month season for male deer is desirable only by game dealers who understandable would like to see a more even supply of animals,” Forde said.
He called for a “moratorium or at least a severe restriction” on the culling of males to ensure a concentration of effort on culling females.
“Both Minister McConologue and Minister Noonan should be held to task for the inevitable continuing increase in deer numbers until proper deer management measures are adopted.
“We have no exact figure for the increase in population but the evidence of an increase and the damage that can be caused by deer is there for anyone with the knowledge to observe it.
“How have we made such an error in our deer management plan?” Forde asked.
The Irish Deer Society said “numerous representations” were made by individuals on behalf of the deer management organisations to IDMSG.
However, it claimed that “pressure, particularly from the farming community, has forced kneejerk response measures that will be ineffective in reducing deer numbers”.
TB
The society also challenged statements from farm organisation that deer spread tuberculosis (TB) which it said is “completely incorrect”.
“The constant theme of deer spreading disease in discussions amongst farmers, both casually and at conventions, has led to an almost hysterical reaction to the sight of deer amongst some in the farming community.
“The farming community need to understand why deer are now seen in areas for the first time and how they can evaluate and manage these incursions,” Forde said.
He also claimed that a longer hunting season will stress deer which could make them succumb to diseases they were previously immune to.