Red deer family group. Click to enlarge.

Tom Hayes T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Heather Humphreys T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht today (4 March 2015) published the report Deer Management in Ireland – A Framework for Action and also announced the membership of theDeer Management Forum.

Minister Hayes commented:

“The Report lists a range of actions to address the whole issue of deer management across the country.  I am pleased to say that the series of stakeholder consultation exercises led to a large degree of consensus in identifying some of the key actions.”   

Speaking today Minister Humphreys said:

“I would like to thank all of the stakeholders involved for the work involved in producing this final report. The production of the report was a significant challenge in attempting to balance the demands of agriculture, forestry and conservation. The development of management strategies should recognise the importance of conserving wild deer species as part of Ireland’s rich natural heritage and biodiversity, while also recognising the needs of the agricultural sector. I am happy to see that this principle is acknowledged in the report.”  

The Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Coillte, the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, together with relevant stakeholders, have been working on policy recommendations relating to deer conservation and management.

The report recommends a series of actions on deer management and conservation in a number of areas including reviewing regulatory and administrative frameworks, land uses and economic interests, information, research, monitoring and economic opportunities. Other actions include the protection of native red deer, reducing the negative impacts of non-native deer species and enhancing skills and best practice.

Both Ministers have agreed to the establishment of the Irish Deer Management Forum 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 Ministers have appointed the members to the Forum and have also appointed Ms. Judith Annett as Chairperson of the Forum.

Arrangements are now being made to hold the first meeting of the Irish Deer Management Forum.

Membership of the Irish Deer Management Forum is made up as follows:

The document, “Deer Management in Ireland – A Framework for Action” can be accessed here:

www.npws.ie/news/publication-report-deer-management-ireland

HCAP Candidates are reminded that Deer Alliance do not individually acknowledge applications received for participation in HCAP MCQs. Lists of eligible Candidates are published in advance of each scheduled MCQ. Candidates who are unable to attend any given MCQ are automatically carried forward to each subsequent MCQ. Applications hold good for up to 180 days from date of receipt. Candidates must complete the process, including Range Test, within 180 days of first application.

Applications for the HCAP MCQ to be held on Saturday 21st March 2015 will close on Friday 13th March 2015. Updates will be posted here, as necessary.

Attention is drawn to the provisions of the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2015, Number 8 of 2015. This is a Private Members’s Bill, sponsored by Deputy Clare Daly. It was introduced in Dail Eireann on 4^th February 2015.

The full text of the Bill can be viewed at www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/bills/2015/815/b815d.pdf.

Section 4 of the Bill provides as follows:

Prohibition on hunting deer with a dog or dogs

 4. The Principal Act is amended in section 23A (inserted by the Act of 2010) by the

substitution of the following for subsection (2):

 “(2) A person who hunts deer with a dog or with two or more dogs shall be

guilty of an offence”.

Clearly this provision has implications for persons including licensed and qualified hunters who, in line with best practice, use trained tracking dogs to follow and find wild shot deer – as indeed is a requirement under the conditions of the standard Coillte licence.

Representations in this regard will be made to the Bill’s Sponsor and other parties in due course.

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.