Fianna Fail TD Jackie Cahill has called for a cull of deer after being involved in a road crash with a deer as he travelled home on Sunday night.
A deer hit the side of his car causing damage to the car but Deputy Cahill was not injured.
The TD says the number of deer are currently out of control and are a risk to road safety in addition to causing issues for farmers including overgrazing, eating pasture and crops, damaging fencing and in some cases damaging newly planted forestry.
A public consultation is currently underway to gather views on issues relating to the increased deer numbers and local councillors Marie Murphy and Máirin McGrath are both encouraging the public to participate in the survey which closes on February 10th.
A Deer Management Strategy Group made up of the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, National Parks & Wildlife Service and Coillte, has been re-established and the group is tasked with developing a sustainable deer management strategy for Ireland in consultation with all stakeholders.
The survey is seeking information from the public about the impacts of deer, possible solutions including the development of a wild venison market and also the constraints that apply to deer management.
The survey can be found here
