The Department of Agriculture is taking a step to control the escalating population of wild deer in Co Wicklow. It is inviting tender bids for provision of a deer management service for the county and its immediate surrounding areas.

Three local deer management units are to be established and given deer management plans.

The contract is valued at €120,000 over three years. Bids must be submitted by 8 March. The successful bidder will be expected to quantify damage being caused by wild deer to farmers’ grassland and to forestry, determine appropriate annual cull levels and help landowners achieve them.

It will record, verify and analyse all cull activity. After three years it will analyse whether or not a sustainable deer population has been achieved.

However, the contract will not provide funding for professional shooters. Therefore, it will rely on leisure shooters and the small number of specialised shooters who fund themselves by selling carcases to processing plants.

The project is aimed at putting deer management on a more sustainable and professional basis and building knowledge that may be of use in other areas affected by high numbers of wild deer.

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