Farmers applied for 482 licences from the National Parks and Wildlife (NPW) to shoot deer entering their lands between March and August 2017, according to figures made available by the NPW’s wildlife licensing unit. The figure is twice that of the same period in 2016.

These were Section 42 licences which must be obtained were a landowner wants to cull deer during the closed spring and summer months. They are granted only where the landowner provides evidence that the deer are causing damage to farmland or forestry.

While the application is made by the landowner or occupier, it is usual that he or she nominates a qualified hunter to cull the animals.

The increased demand for control of deer numbers is a result of the ongoing rise in the deer population and continuing high levels of TB in cattle herds in Wicklow and a number of other counties.

The new figures, published by the Deer Alliance, show that 786 deer were culled. Of these, 546 were male deer, including 16 red, 303 fallow, 223 sika and four hybrid deer. The other 240 deer were females – one red hind, 20 fallow does and 218 sika hinds.

Of the total licences granted, 390 were for shooting in daylight hours.

Another 92 of the licences permitted night shooting with a lamp. These special licences require that the shooter have additional training meeting HCAP certification. Tissue samples from a proportion of deer culled under licence are sent to the Department of Agriculture for TB testing. Testing of other carcases takes place at abattoirs where culled deer are brought for processing into venison.