Deer and Forestry in Ireland: a Review of Current Status and Management Requirements
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DEER AND FORESTRY IN IRELAND: A REVIEW OF CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS A report prepared for Woodlands of Ireland (Coillearnacha Dúchasacha) By Paddy Purser MSIF M.Agr.Sc. (Forestry) Faith Wilson BSc (Hons) CEnv MIEEM Dr Ruth Carden B.Sc. (Hons. Zoology), Ph.D. (Science, Zoology) November 2009 Purser Tarleton Russell Ltd. Croghan Lodge, Woodenbridge, Avoca, Co. Wicklow 1 DEER AND FORESTRY IN IRELAND: A REVIEW OF THEIR CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS Executive Summary There is no national deer management policy in Ireland and no co-ordinated system of deer population distribution or density measurement. There is no single authority with jurisdiction over the necessary components of a comprehensive deer management policy. Due to a number of factors, deer populations in Ireland are increasing at unsustainable rates and in many areas are already at unsustainable levels. Deer are currently impacting significantly on both the economic and biodiversity values of forest habitats and these impacts will reach catastrophic levels in the next ten years if the current system of lack of management remains unchanged. The consequences of not addressing deer management will result in deteriorating conservation status of native woodland as well as a reduction in hardwood and conifer wood quality, an inability for broadleaf woodland to regenerate thereby compromising their future viability, increasing damage to agricultural crops as a result of increasing deer grazing pressure, severe difficulties regarding the control of disease outbreaks such as foot-and-mouth, and an increase in collisions between motor vehicles and deer, which may result in serious injuries or death for the motorists involved. Deer population management in Ireland is not practiced to any significant extent and foresters and forest owners have an ill-founded reliance on recreational hunters to achieve the necessary levels of deer management which will only be achieved through the use of professional deer management personnel. There is no properly established quality control system in place that could facilitate the development of a domestic market for venison. Without such a market, there is little chance for a sustainable future for deer management given the high cost of carcass disposal and the need for a disproportionate cull of females over males, for which some sporting revenue can be generated. Deer management is not taught in any of the Irish 3rd level institutions, not even as a module of any of the three forestry schools. The financial cost of deer damage is difficult to quantify. It includes loss of timber value (estimated at €34 million for recently planted broadleaved plantations), loss of biodiversity, reconstitution costs, potential EU fines for non compliance with the Habitats Directive and potential loss of investment through failure to achieve the objectives of Forest Service grant schemes. In commercial conifer crops there is recent data that suggests that in areas of Ireland that have high deer densities presently, up to 22% of the potential revenue of the crop amounting to €3,800/ha may be lost. Much is to be learnt from our European neighbours where there are established deer management cultures, policies and practices. There is an immediate need for a fundamental change in deer management in Ireland. This can only be achieved through the establishment of a dedicated national or all-Ireland deer management unit, similar to the Scottish Deer Commission or the UK Deer Initiative. It is recommended that an Irish deer management unit be established with adequate statutory powers and budgets to effect the necessary regulatory, management, research, educational and developmental changes that can result in a deer management system that is fully integrated with forest management and other land use and related policies. A National deer management unit can be established within an existing government Department, e.g. Department of the Environment, Heritage and local government via NPWS, as an inter- departmental agency or as an independent agency. It is also recommended that the general public is made aware of the negative impacts of deer to counteract the current benign and vulnerable perception many people have of deer. This will require a public relations campaign at national level as well as educational initiatives starting at primary school level. Other key recommendations are provided relating to the development of: • A national or all-Ireland deer management policy. • Formal deer management training in Ireland. • A consistent and verifiable all-Ireland deer distribution records database. • Regionalised professional deer management strategies. • A cadre of professional deer managers capable of implementing deer management policies and strategies, leaving recreational hunters to hunt recreationally. • A consistent and verifiable all-Ireland deer densities records database. • A domestic venison market and the development of a quality assurance scheme for venison. • A recreational deer hunting strategy. • A more strategic approach to forest design, establishment and management taking deer management into consideration. • A number of pilot local deer management groups. • An awareness amongst road engineers and planners of the potential implications of increasing deer populations. • A database that includes all records of collisions between motor vehicles and deer, i.e. instigated by the Road Safety Authority in co-operation with An Garda Síochána and Local Authorities. 2 DEER AND FORESTRY IN IRELAND: A REVIEW OF THEIR CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................4 2. Statutory Responsibility for Deer Management..................................................5 3. Forest Management Culture and Education ......................................................7 4. Deer Species and their Distribution in Ireland....................................................8 5. Current Deer Management Measures .............................................................10 6. Deer Stocking Densities ..................................................................................13 7. Damage Case Studies ....................................................................................15 8. Expected Damage & Potential Loss of Value ..................................................19 9. Damage to Commercial Conifer Crops..............................................................23 10. Making it Pay (Stalking and Venison) ..............................................................24 11. Road Traffic Accidents ....................................................................................26 12. Deer Management Groups (Baronscourt Case Study) ....................................27 13. Impact of Deer and Related Diseases on Other Agricultural Enterprises .........30 14. Impact of Deer on Native Woodlands ..............................................................33 15. Acknowledgements .........................................................................................42 16. References......................................................................................................43 17. Appendix I. History of Deer Populations in Ireland ............................................48 17.1 Muntjac deer.............................................................................................48 17.2 Sika ..........................................................................................................51 17.3 Red Deer..................................................................................................53 17.4 Hybrids (Red X Sika) ................................................................................56 17.5 Fallow deer...............................................................................................57 18. Appendix II. Current Trends and Distributions of Deer in Ireland......................59 19. Appendix III. Descriptions of deer damage.......................................................60 20. Appendix IV: Impact of Deer on Native Woodlands – Results from the ................ National Survey of Native Woodland.................................................................64 20.1 Native Woodland Cover............................................................................64 20.2 Threats to Irish woodlands........................................................................64 20.3 Grazing Impacts on Native Woodlands.....................................................65 21. Appendix V. Deer Management .......................................................................67 22. Appendix VI. Habitats and species listed under Annex I and II ............................ respectively of the EU Habitats Directive negatively impacted ............................. through grazing.................................................................................................70 3 DEER AND FORESTRY IN IRELAND: A REVIEW OF THEIR CURRENT STATUS AND MANAGEMENT REQUIREMENTS 1. Introduction This report was commissioned by Woodlands of Ireland in an attempt to distil current knowledge and experience of deer populations in Ireland, their effect on Ireland’s growing woodland resource and the likely future consequence of relatively unchecked deer population growth. In the absence of any natural predators of deer in Ireland, it is necessary to manage their population