Almost 5,000 deer culled in Tipperary last year

After Wicklow, Tipperary had the second-highest number of deer culled in 2022, south Tipperary Councillor John Crosse told the Irish Farmers Journal.

In 2022, Tipperary had just under 5,000 deer culled, while in Wicklow last year, there were over 15,000 deer culled.

Cllr Cross has said that an even greater and more intensive cull is needed for Tipperary in order to deal with the rising deer population.

"We're not winning the battle at all with the deer numbers, it's actually getting worse," he said.

Harm

The Fine Gael county councillor said that deer are causing harm to both Tipperary people's live and livelihoods.

"Not only are they causing serious issues and accidents on the roads, they're seriously affecting farmers also.

"They're constantly coming down out of covers to graze, cleaning off ground farmers have let up for silage and trampling fences.

"Farmers are not being compensated for this either," he argued.

Areas of Tipperary such as Rossadrehid, Annacarthy and Dundrum are being particularly affected, Cross said.

"There are people avoiding certain roads around Rossadrehid because deer populations have gotten so bad.

"I've definitely seen more deer around than ever before," he stressed.

Cross is appealing to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue and the Department to "intensify" the culling of deer, adding that there are hopes of a meeting with Department officials next week.