Dublin: The Irish Deer Commission reported that over 55,000 deer were shot by poachers last year. They went on to say that if the actual figure is verified, the number of deer could be much higher.
In 2019, 44,000 deer were shot and killed, a 24% increase from the previous year. With 20,000 deer killed, County Wicklow had the highest number of deer kills.
Licensed hunters have killed 200,000 wild deer in the last five years. The NPWS warned that this could have a negative impact on agriculture, forestry, and habitats.
According to Environment Minister Eamon Ryan, deer and goat grazing meant that no small trees could grow, so deer hunting was required to restore biodiversity. Soon after, the Deer Commission released new figures.
To develop a sustainable deer management strategy in Ireland, the government recently formed a group comprised of officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, NPWS, and Coillte. According to the findings of this commission, the total number of deer is unknown. They also clarified that it is not possible to say with certainty because the figures have not yet been collected.
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