An experienced hunter who has been centrally involved in studies of deer populations and TB in Co Wicklow has jointly set up a new business offering a professional wildlife control service to farmers and other landowners.

Sean Creane has come together with fellow licensed hunter Brian Binions to start BNS Wildlife Control. Their company will assess damage being caused to cattle herds, sheep flocks, fencing and stone walls, forestry, grassland or other crops by inappropriate populations of foxes, deer, rabbits, goats, birds or wild pigs.

Where necessary, they will advise and arrange humane culling. Both men have formal training in hunter competency and certificates in agriculture. Creane, a tillage farmer, also has qualifications in firearms safety handling, safe handling of wild game meat and large animal euthanasia.

Both have years of experience of stalking and shooting deer for landowners during the hunting season. Sean Ceane is well known to many farmers in Co Wicklow as he was asked by the Department of Agriculture to carry out the two sample culls of deer at Calary in 2015. Testing found that 18% of the culled deer had TB.

This has led to a general acceptance among all parties involved in the debate that a reduction in deer numbers is required, for the welfare of deer as well as to reduce losses caused to farmers. Arrangements are now being made to carry this out.

Creane has continued to take an interest in disease levels in deer. When shooting deer on farms around the country, he takes blood samples from all carcases and submits them to the Department of Agriculture along with a GPS location.

The Department will shortly publish an analysis of levels of TB, BVD, IBR, Bluetongue, Schmallenberg and other diseases found in these deer.

“There is a need to control deer numbers in parts of the country, especially where there is high incidence of TB,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal. “There are huge numbers in places.”

He believes the growth in deer numbers is because of the growth in areas under forestry.

“The National Parks and Wildlife Service can’t control deer numbers – they’re understaffed.” Neither are hunters doing so, Crean said, despite the number of licensed shooters doubling to about 4,000 in the past decade.

The venison from all deer they shoot is utilised, with some carcases sold to Ballymoney Meats in Co Kildare for sale on the home and export markets.