Latest News
Forestry Investment News
Deer damage to woodland an Irish concern
21/04/2010
It has been reported that a plan to cut the number of deer in Ireland is vital due to the serious level of damage the animals are doing to woodland in the country.
There is currently no national deer management programme in existence in Ireland and it has been claimed that the various State bodies are not working in cooperation with each other to combat the problem.
This has resulted to an explosion in the number of deer living in the wild which, it is claimed, is leading to losses for woodland owners. There have also been claims that deer are even being bought from farms and released into the wild illegally to make higher numbers of animals available for hunters to shoot.
Deer can cause considerable damage in young forestry plantations by browsing and stripping back the bark of young trees. It is difficult for natural regeneration to take place where there are high numbers of deer and landowners say that the cost of fencing the deer out is too expensive to be feasible.
Woodland cover in Ireland is on the rise due to afforestation schemes, which is good news. With a sustained and clear policy regarding deer control, woodland can be protected from the damage the animals cause.
There is currently no national deer management programme in existence in Ireland and it has been claimed that the various State bodies are not working in cooperation with each other to combat the problem.
This has resulted to an explosion in the number of deer living in the wild which, it is claimed, is leading to losses for woodland owners. There have also been claims that deer are even being bought from farms and released into the wild illegally to make higher numbers of animals available for hunters to shoot.
Deer can cause considerable damage in young forestry plantations by browsing and stripping back the bark of young trees. It is difficult for natural regeneration to take place where there are high numbers of deer and landowners say that the cost of fencing the deer out is too expensive to be feasible.
Woodland cover in Ireland is on the rise due to afforestation schemes, which is good news. With a sustained and clear policy regarding deer control, woodland can be protected from the damage the animals cause.
RSS