A video showing deer presenting a real and present danger to motorists at Ardralla, outside of Skibbereen, has been shared with The Southern Star.
Last week John McNamara warned that deer crossing at speed at dusk could result in an accident that would damage a vehicle, or worse, the driver. He said a deer had caused €4,000 worth of damage to a vehicle a few weeks ago.
The man who took the video saw the article in last week’s Southern Star and shared it with a licensed hunter as proof of the danger that the herd presents.
The footage shows how two motorists unsuspectingly take the dangerous corner at New Court only to be confronted by the deer in the middle of the road.
It shows a deer that was in the lead attempting to leap onto and over a stone wall, but coming back onto the road, which caused the others to move into the line of oncoming traffic.
Dan McCarthy, who has been given a special Section 42 hunting licence by the National Parks and Wildlife Service to cull deer, spoke to The Southern Star about the need to manage the herd number.
As well as being a licensed member of a gun club, Dan is a trained hunter with more than 40 years of experience, and is fully licensed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Dan said it is his understanding that a few deer were released into the bog at Ardralla about 30 years ago, but today there could be as many as 35 in the herd.
‘There is no doubt about the danger they present,’ he said, ‘especially from September 1st to the end of November, which is the rutting season.
‘Stags move from one place to another, covering great distances for the purpose of breeding, so it is the most dangerous time of the year.
‘There is nothing in their head but breeding and this presents a danger because they are haywire.
‘They are operating without any other instinct and will cross a road without being aware of cars, or any other kind of danger.
‘They are even a danger to inexperienced hunters, or people walking the mountains, because they could attack you like a bull. They have been known to treat people as a potential threat to breeding, or their herd.’
Dan explained how it is of the utmost importance to only licence the most experienced of hunters and, in this regard, he said: ‘We do a lot of surveying because it is not our intention to wipe out a herd, or the species. No one wants that. This is about control.’
Aside from road traffic issues, Dan said deer can cause intensive damage to silage fields, and fencing, and leave fields unprotected in terms of animal husbandry.
‘They damage young forestry trees too, which can represent a significant loss to Coillte, and private plantation owners who are looking to restore Ash and Oak long-term,’ he added.
‘I have had long debates with people who are anti-deer hunting, but it is possible, over time, to get them to understand that we are not about killing animals, but keeping them to a manageable level,’ he said. ‘We are more conservationists than killers.’
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