Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 May 2023
236. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if hunting female deer in calf (details supplied) is accepted practice during deer hunting season; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20720/23]
View answerThe Open Seasons Order [Wildlife (Wild Mammals) (Open Seasons) Orders 2005 to 2012] outlines the species of protected wild mammals that may be hunted during specific periods in specified places in the State. Female Sika, Fallow and Red Deer may be hunted from 1 November each year until the last day of February in the following year and Muntjac Deer can be hunted year round.
All hunters are expected to humanely dispatch any deer that they hunt. The National Park and Wildlife Service of my Department (NPWS) has approved three deer hunting training courses for all first-time deer hunters, details of which can be accessed on the NPWS website at the following link: www.npws.ie/licencesandconsents/hunting/deer-hunting-licences-2023-2024/mandatory-certification-deer-hunters. This training is also a mandatory requirement when applying for a deer hunting licence under Section 29(1) of the, Wildlife Acts, as amended.
In addition, landowners may apply for a licence, outside of the open seasons, under Section 42 of the Wildlife Acts where serious damage is being caused by protected wild animals to:
a. food (including human food products and animal feeds) livestock, poultry or agricultural crops (including vegetables or fruit) either on pasture or on cultivated land,
b. pen-reared wild birds on any land,
c. other fauna,
d. flora,
e. a woodland or a forest plantation
f. a fishery,
g. buildings and other structures and their contents, or
h. aquaculture installations
As part of the mandatory training hunters are taught about the biology and life cycle of the deer species in question which allows them to make informed decisions as to how and when they hunt or cull deer notwithstanding the legal rights of landowners and land managers to protect their farms, woodlands and conservation sites from damage by deer, that impact on their livelihoods and bio-diversity.
