Over 1,500 submissions were made as part of the public consultation on the new National Deer Management Strategy, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has confirmed.
Submissions were received from a wide variety of stakeholders, including farmers, hunters, ecologists, private citizens and various representative groups.
A DAFM spokesperson told Agriland that the submissions came from all counties, with both rural and urban dwellers represented.
Strategy
Last year, a Deer Management Strategy Group made up of department officials, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and Coillte, was re-established.
The group, chaired by Teddy Cashman, is tasked with developing a sustainable deer management strategy for Ireland in consultation with stakeholders.
At the request of the group, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue and Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage of Ireland, Darragh O’ Brien launched a public consultation in December.
A DAFM spokesperson said that the strategy group, which met last week, is currently studying and analysing the data gathered from the consultation in detail.
“This information, and its evaluation, will help inform and direct further discussions in the consultation with stakeholders over the coming weeks and months.
“The information gathered will be incorporated into the final report,” they added.
It is anticipated that the final report from the group will be completed in time for the start of the next deer hunting season on September 1.
“It is envisaged that the report will contain a series of recommendations for the sustainable management of deer over the coming years,” the DAFM spokesperson said.
Report
Meanwhile, a recent report published by the Wicklow Deer Management Project revealed that landowners in the county face significant agricultural and economic losses due to deer grazing.
They found that the differences in grass yields where deer had been grazing compared to where they had been excluded ranged between 10% and 35%.
A 30% loss of yield due to deer grazing could see a loss of production costs of €180/ac or €445/ha.
However, this loss is a very modest estimate towards potential losses as a result of the grazing impact, the Wicklow Uplands Council which managed the three-year project, said.