The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) has welcomed a government proposal to carry out a national deer cull.
The proposal is contained in a report from the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group (IDMSG), chaired by Teddy Cashman, which was set up to lead the development of a strategy for the management of wild deer in Ireland.
The report lists 15 ‘actions’, eight of which are recommended for early implementation.
These recommended actions address a wide range of issues from hunter training and forest design to land use management and the venison market.
Deer cull
The president of ICMSA, Pat McCormack, welcomed what he described as the government’s “long overdue” commitment to a deer cull and a more proactive approach to managing the deer population.
He said that farmers had been expressing mounting concerns about the surge in deer numbers for at least a decade.
McCormack said that in addition to the “well-known role” that the expanding deer population played in spreading bovine tuberculosis (TB), there were issues around road safety, forestry destruction and other biodiversity aspects that demanded action.
He urged Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue to begin the cull in January 2024.
However, the ICMSA president warned against the establishment of “yet another quango or state agency with whom farmers and landowners would have to engage and on the basis of yet more regulations and restrictions”.
McCormack said that “the only herd expanding faster than deer were the number of agencies, quangos and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in farming, the environment and land ownership”.
Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food, and the Marine, Jackie Cahill, also welcomed that a proposal for a deer cull proposal will be brought before Cabinet shortly by Minister McConalogue.
“This is long overdue, and it is essential for a variety of reasons. One major issue many of us are familiar with, myself included, is the huge number of accidents that have occurred as a result of deer crossing on roads.
“From a deer welfare point of view, their habitats are seriously overpopulated which is resulting in a lack of forage, and this is also driving them to travel outside of their habitats.
“Their population needs to be restored to optimal levels to ensure they have sufficient forage to flourish within their habitats,” Cahill said.
“This deer overpopulation is also a major contributing factor in the increasing rates of TB in cattle. Deer are straying from their habitats, mixing with cattle, and spreading the infection,” he added.
The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food, and the Marine will be discussing the eradication of TB next week.
ICSA
Meanwhile Hugh Farrell, Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association (ICSA), Animal Health and Welfare chair has also welcomed the IDMSG report and said that its recommendations must be followed through.
Farrell added: “This report is a positive development, not just in our battle against TB, but for tackling a huge range of problems that have emerged as a consequence of the unchecked and ever expanding wild deer population.
“Uncontrolled deer growth adversely impacts biodiversity, road safety, and agriculture. It is imperative that we act on the recommendations laid out in this report.
He believes that by “addressing the challenges posed by the deer population” proactive steps can be taken to safeguard the health and welfare of livestock in relation to TB.