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\nThe herd in the park was made up of 16 Irish red deer<\/p>\n
Fingal County Council said it is appealing for information following the “callous killing of [an] iconic stag” that was found beheaded in one of its parklands in north county Dublin<\/p>\n
The stag’s head was removed from the grounds of Newbridge House in Donabate and staff say they have no doubt it was taken as a trophy.<\/p>\n
The animal’s body was discovered when staff went to feed the herd of Irish red deer.<\/p>\n
They say the herd of 16 Irish red deer have been kept in a fenced area of the grounds of Newbridge House for more than two decades and that nothing of this nature has ever occurred before.<\/p>\n
The stag, who was eight years old, was one of two in the herd.<\/p>\n
Mayor of Fingal Councillor Tom O\u2019Leary condemned the incident, adding that it is “truly shocking that someone would carry out this act”.<\/p>\n
\nThe herd in the park was made up of 16 Irish red deer<\/p>\n
In a statement, Mr O\u2019Leary said he had visited the park with his granddaughters “who really enjoyed meeting the stag and deer”.<\/p>\n
“A wonderful animal to behold close up,” he added.<\/p>\n
He appealed for anyone with information to contact the garda\u00ed or the National Parks and Wildlife Service.<\/p>\n
“It is illegal to kill deer without a licence and I hope that the perpetrators can be brought to justice,” Mr O\u2019Leary said.<\/p>\n