“Deer have me destroyed on my home farm; they eat all my spring grass. They also wreck all of my fences and I have no grass in the silage fields until June.”
These were the words of John Hession – a polled Simmental breeder – from Partry, Co. Mayo. The passionate cattle breeder has “had it up to here” with wild deer residing and grazing on his farm.
Speaking to AgriLand, John explained how the deer have interrupted his business. It is not only John who has been affected by the deer, but local residents and road users have had issues with these animals.
“I used to cut silage on the first week of June, but I can’t cut nothing now because there’s no grass there. They also bring fences everywhere and nothing will stop them.
“But it’s the amount of grass that they eat at the crucial time of the year that is so annoying. When fodder is running low, you’re trying to get calves out to grass and trying to close off ground for silage; there’s nothing you can do.
“There is dairy men in the area too and they are pulling their hair out as well; it’s a huge loss for them,” he added.
An escalating problem
John explained how the deer problem escalated over the years. He said: “It is only in the last 20 years that it has started to become a major problem. Initially, there wasn’t too many and I would get a marksman to shoot these during the open season.
“However, the deer population went from strength to strength; it’s incredible. I have hundreds of them on the farm,” he explained.
“The deer became an everyday sight; over the last 15 years it has become an epidemic – particularly in the spring time; April and May grass is non-existent,” the Mayo man added.
“I could go out on a spring morning and there could be anywhere from 60 to 80 deer in the fields. I try to let calves out on paddocks behind my shed in early spring, but there’s nothing in those paddocks; they eat them bare.”
‘People are sick of it’
John – who now transports silage a distance of 25km – highlighted that the deer are particularly a problem in the Partry and Ballinarobe area; mainly because of the mountainous and woodland areas.
Both John and other farmers in the area – along with local residents who have had their lawns covered in deer faeces – have had meetings with the National Parks and Wildlife; but nothing has been done.
“It’s extremely dangerous from late September/October to drive through the Partry area because of deer crossing during the rutting (mating) season. Co. Mayo road safety officers are always issuing warnings on the radio,” John explained.
“I was coming home from mowing one evening last week (week ending August 20) and there were two fawns just lying on the road after being hit by a car and the car was very badly damaged. The driver was livid; people are so sick of it here,” John added.
Measures to reduce deer population
Over the years, John has tried many different options in an effort to try and reduce the number of deer on his land. He has ‘shooting towers’ located all over the farm.
However, John is of the opinion that the open season is too short and that land owners should be allowed to shoot male deer all year round.
We had marksmen in and they assured us within three years that the problem would be different. We did see a difference in three years; it had gone exponential – absolutely out of control.
“At one stage I even bought a wolf (Canadian Timberland wolf crossed with a Malmooth dog – similar to a Husky). But, I was very unpopular among the local sheep farmers so I got rid of him. He did a great job, but he also drove my cows mental.”
Recently, John has been informed that lion manure has been used in the Netherlands to try and scare deer off land. This is something he is currently looking into.
“Over the years I’ve applied for a Section 24, which allows you to shoot male deer all year round out of season. I was granted the licence once and another time I was only allowed shoot six male deer and that’s no good,” John added.
Lymes disease and the threat of TB
John outlined that there has been some diagnosed cases of Lymes disease in the area. This is an infectious disease spread by ticks.
“There has been a number of adults and children getting Lymes disease and it is down to the deer. There has been several diagnosed cases of it. I don’t bring the kids out on the farm.”
Continuing, John explained that the deer are extremely clever animals and once the open season begins, they head for cover.
“They are very adaptable animals; it only takes an outbreak of TB to happen and then we have a serious problem.
“They drink out of the water troughs; they get cut on wire and they graze around the cattle. Females are not a problem.
“It’s when you get a wild stag during rutting season that has been rejected by the herd. He chases calves and I’ve had cattle injured and driven out through wire.
“Some of my animals have had their shoulders put out and some cows have aborted calves; I’ve also had calves put into bog holes.
“I’m fit to cry over them. It’s so frustrating because nobody listens to you about them. We can deal with drought and we can get over fodder shortages, but the deer would leave you with nothing,” he concluded.