Liam Nolan of the Deer Alliance has been appointed to the Irish Deer Management Forum, a new body established by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Establishment of the Forum follows almost four years of development stimulated in part by a National Conference convened in April 2011 by the different deer organisations including the Irish Deer Society and the Wild Deer Association of Ireland. That Conference was followed by two rounds of public consultation initiated by the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine in conjunction with the National Parks & Wildlife Service and Coillte Teoranta. In the course of public consultation a wide variety of stakeholders, including the Deer Alliance, made important contributions, many of which will now feed into the creation of a national deer management strategy. A Draft Action Plan, based on six specific Strategic Principles and a set of five specific Work Packages, will now form the basis for further development of a long-term national deer management strategy encompassing all stakeholder interests, including the interests of hunters, farmers and foresters.

Liam Nolan is a former National Chairman and President of the Irish Deer Society and has spearheaded the Deer Alliance Hunter Competence Assessment Programme (HCAP) since it was introduced in 2005 following four years of development.

Deer Alliance Hunter Competence Assessment Programme (HCAP) Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) written examinations will be held on Saturday 21st March 2015 and Saturday 25th April 2015 (at 4 p.m. on each day), with Range Test for successful MCQ Candidates to be held on Saturday 30th May 2015, commencing at 10 a.m. Application for HCAP can be made through the “Online Applications” section of the website and payment (€100.00) can be made through PayPal using any valid debit or credit card. Hard-copy applications accompanied by cheque or postal order can be made by ordinary post, using the downloadable form available on the website.

The Deer Alliance Stalker Training Manual can be ordered and paid for also through “Online Applications”, or ordered and paid for by ordinary post, cost €35.00 including post & packaging.

The venue for MCQs will be the Ionad Dara Community Centre in Goresbridge, Co. Kilkenny, which is located beside the Roman Catholic Church, Church Street, Goresbridge. All HCAP Range Tests are held at the Midland National Shooting Centre, Derrymore, Blue Ball, Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

In addition, the Deer Alliance will hold Training Workshops from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday 21st March in conjunction with the MCQ on that day, and again on Saturday 25th April. The add-on cost of participation in Workshops will be €50.00, subject to prior booking and payable on the day.

A list of eligible candidates will be posted here prior to each MCQ and prior to the first Range Test, to include any candidates remaining eligible from earlier MCQs or Range Tests, if any.

Further enquiries to 086 1927 845 or by email to deeralliance@gmail.com.

Sika stag, Wicklow

The following notice appears on the website of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland and is re-posted here for the information of visitors to the Deer Alliance blog.

“We have received a number of complaints alleging members have been approached to act as buying agents for an Approved Game Handling Establishment (AGHE). The approach involves the AGHE suggesting to the hunter that they buy deer carcasses from local hunters and friends on their behalf at a low price and the AGHE in turn remunerates the hunter at a higher price for the same deer carcasses.

Any individual who partakes or supports such an arrangement is committing a crime as the sale and purchase of wildlife is strictly licensed. In addition income arising from such an arrangement would need to be declared to the revenue commissioners resulting in a likely tax liability.

It is also alleged the AGHE as part of their approach suggest that once the individual has completed their Trained Person/Hunter requirements for the sale of game to AGHE’s, they can sign off on the carcasses they purchase as having met the necessary inspection requirements. Again this is incorrect and an offence as the requirements state “person (trained person/hunter) was present when the animal was shot”.

Such illegal practices ultimately encourage poaching and the illegal trading of game in Ireland. This is nothing short of black-market economics on game that is already threatened.

If you have received any such approach or are aware of an individual involved in this illegal practice please contact the Dept of Agriculture, Meat Hygiene 057 869 4479 or your local NPWS Conservation Ranger, alternatively you can email us on wilddeerireland@gmail.com”.

See footnote below

Ciaran Moran on www.agriland.ie, September 13, 2014

Following a meeting with senior Department of Agriculture officials, IFA Animal Health Chairman Bert Stewart has welcomed the commencement of a detailed study to verify the actual levels of TB in wild deer by the Department.

The IFA Chairman said farmers in areas throughout the country have real concerns in relation to the role wild deer encroaching onto their land is having in prolonging TB episodes and contributing to new outbreaks. He said this study must determine both the incidence of TB in deer and the risk they are posing to the health status of the cattle in the farms they are encroaching onto.

Bert Stewart said, “It has to be more than a coincidence that the county that has made the least progress in reducing the incidence of TB is also the most populated with deer. In this regard, it is appropriate the study is being carried out in an area of Wicklow that is experiencing severe problems with TB in cattle”.

IFA Wicklow Chairman Tom Short said the study which is due to commence this week is a first step in dealing with an issue that has for a long number of years been a major concern for farmers in Wicklow.

He said the study will evaluate the TB levels in 100 deer removed from the broader Calary area over the coming weeks. It will include both visual analysis and culturing of samples by the Department of Agriculture in its laboratory in Backweston.

Tom Short said following compilation of all of the results and strain typing of the disease found, IFA will be meeting senior Department Officials to develop a strategy as to how best to deal with the issue: “While we understand the complexity of the task at hand, time is not on our side and the Department of Agriculture must complete the study in the shortest time frame possible.”

Footnote: The stag (above) used to illustrate this report on www.agriland.ie and also used on the Teagasc website is unlikely to trouble the farming community in Wicklow or anywhere else. It appears to be either a Wapiti (North American Elk) or a Wapiti x Red hybrid and very unlikely to be found in the wild in Ireland. 

Sika stag. Photograph by R. Bowler (click to enlarge)

The following names are added to the Register of HCAP-Certified Candidates with effect from 30th August 2014:

Cavaliere, Riccardo, 2014/0101
Chubb, Patrick, 2014/0088
Emmett, Christopher, 2014/0089
Finn, Tony, 2014/0090
Newport, Colm, 2014/0118
O’Neill, Paul, 2014/0108.

Coillte Warning Sign – Click to enlarge

All persons hunting wild deer on Coillte forest property are reminded of the requirement to post Warning Notices in the form prescribed by Coillte Teoranta, at all forest entrances while stalking.

The signs must be a minimum size of 400 m.m. wide, 600 m.m. high.

Murphy Signs of Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenny can supply signs at a cost of €9.50 plus VAT @ 23% (no minimum order size). Some volume discount may be negotiable subject to quantity ordered.

Contact Ken Murphy, 059 972 4206, mobile 086 261 6286, email murphysigns@eircom.net.

This notification is posted by Deer Alliance as an information service to HCAP-Certified hunters and others.The Deer Alliance has no commercial or other interest in the supply of signs by Murphy Signs or any other provider.

Fallow buck (click to enlarge)

With the new stalking season 2014 – 2015 about to open on 1st September, it is appropriate to remind all persons hunting wild deer on Coillte forest property, including all HCAP-Certified stalkers, of the conduct expected of all. This is set out in the Coillte Deerstalking Code of Practice. You can access the Code by clicking on the link below and all stalkers are encouraged to remind themselves of the content of the Code.

Remember – safety in the field should be the guiding principle, together with careful selective culling and respect for deer at all times.

Coillte Deerstalking Code of Practice 2014

Joe Murphy, Irish Trophy Commission (left), photographed with George Gossip at Birr

(click to enlarge)

Well-known countryman and all-round game-shooter George Gossip, Galway, joins the elite ranks of Irish stalkers whose trophies have achieved Gold Medal status with a fine Red deer shot in the 2012-2013 Season in Co. Meath. George is seen here with Joe Murphy of the Irish Trophy Commission, who measured the head as an accredited ITC measurer at the recent Game Fair at Birr Castle, Co. Offaly. The Irish Trophy Commission, whose directors include Liam Nolan (who also administers the Deer Alliance Hunter Competence Assessment Programme), Liam McGarry (currently President of the Irish Deer Society) and Joe Murphy (currently Chairman of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland),  was established in 2012 and measures trophy heads principally for the three Irish deer species, Red, Fallow and Sika, and awards certificates and medals based on the CIC (Conseil International de la Chasse et de la Conservation du Gibier) International Council for Game & Wildlife Conservation and Rowland Ward measurement criteria, further developed by the ITC to take account of needed refinements. Joe Murphy is one of a number of trained and fully-accredited measurers in Ireland. All ITC measurers are fully trained, accredited and experienced in the task of measuring trophy heads. Trophy measurement is utilised to track the quality, including the genetic quality, and outcome of selective deer management and as part of the ITC contribution to education and research in the matter of wild deer in Ireland.