merrion street

Jimmy Deenihan T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht today (Saturday 23 June, 2012) launched a brochure by the Kerry Deer Society on the red deer in county Kerry.

The Minister said that it is timely that the Society chose to launch their brochure at this time of the year during the busy tourist season. "The brochure should prove of great value to visitors in expanding their knowledge of the red deer population which are unique to Kerry. The brochure gives good advice on how to see these beautiful animals without causing them disturbance given that their natural habitat is generally hilly areas," said the Minister.

The Minister commented on the fact that a recent report discovered that the Kerry Red Deer are the direct descendants of deer present in Ireland some 5,000 years ago. "While the report concluded that these deer species were brought from Britain into the country, the authors of the report believe that the unique Kerry red deer population are worthy of special conservation status", continued the Minister.

The Minister mentioned that the Kerry Deer Society was founded over 40 years ago by people concerned at the decline in population of deer species in the county. Since that period, with the assistance of the Society along with other concerned bodies and the National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department, the Kerry red deer population has recovered with the main population now located within Killarney National Park. The Minister said, "I would like to commend the Kerry Deer Society for bringing their knowledge and expertise to bear in the development of the deer management plan for red deer which is currently in place."

The Minister referred to the illegal shooting of red deer in the last few months in the county and said, "I know that staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service have carried out increased number of patrols within the boundaries of the Killarney National Park in the last few months, including patrols at night, with a view to deterring the illegal shooting of deer."

The Minister also raised the recent incidents in Mayo and Donegal relating to the illegal killing of white tailed eagles which were apparently poisoned and said that these killing are completely unacceptable and continued, "These poisoning incidents along with continued illegal deer shooting around the country are damaging to our country which prides itself on its image of fostering a diversity of wildlife."

Finally, the Minister thanked all the members of the Kerry Deer Society on their continued success in contributing to the conservation of deer and their habitats in Kerry.