My Department grants some 4,600 licences annually to hunt deer during the Open Season which is the period during which deer can be legally shot under licence. The Open Season for deer operates generally from 1 September to 28 February, depending on the species and gender of deer.
In March 2015 my
Department along with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine published the report Deer Management in Ireland – A Framework for Action which includes
policy recommendations relating to deer conservation and management that could be pursued by both Departments and stakeholders. An Irish Deer Management Forum was established to implement the various actions listed in the Report. The Forum itself comprises representatives from the main stakeholder areas such as landowners, forestry, hunting and conservation organisations as well as representatives from both Departments.
The Forum has issued a number of recommendations since its establishment including a recommendation that mandatory certification of deer hunters should be introduced on a phased basis over a five year period from 1st January 2018 for existing licensed deer hunters. In order to gauge the extent of current accreditation amongst hunters, my Department amended the current deer hunting application form to obtain this information which is currently being examined by my Department. In this year’s deer hunting application form guidance notes, deer hunters were informed of the Deer Management Forum’s proposal in relation to certification.