All options – including calling in army rangers – should be on the table when it comes to organising an effective cull of the growing deer population, the IFA’s animal health chair TJ Maher has said.

“We need to do something quickly and effectively,” he told the Irish Farmers Journal, “and in times of need in the past, army rangers have been used for special operations”.

Official figures show that 55,000 deer were culled last year “without even making a dent” in the national deer herd, Maher said. He called for all parties to design a structured, co-ordinated and systematic cull to reduce deer numbers effectively.

“We need to start with the hotspots like Wicklow and have a repeatable plan for other areas,” he insisted.

Maher’s comments come as a Department of Agriculture’s study revealed overwhelming support for a national cull.

Farmers, foresters, ecologists, NGOs and academics are in agreement that to tackle rising deer populations, culling is the favoured route.

Biodiversity loss and damage to agriculture such as crops, pasture and grazing were highlighted as the two most significant impacts of deer.

Support for landowners

More than 86% of those who responded said that deer culling was the most important option for addressing the impact of deer, closely followed at 78% by supports for farmers and landowners to control deer.

The research also found that a commercially successful market for wild venison was important, as well as increased training for hunters and the option to contract hunters or gamekeepers for culling and management.

Road safety, damage to high-value nature conservation sites and damage to farm infrastructure such as fencing and damage to forestry were also high on the list of concerns.

The threat to farm animal health and welfare, such as from TB, was raised by many, as was the threat to human health such as from lyme disease.