The Government have announced a revision of the Deer Hunting season dates with immediate effect in a bid to manage the deer population.
The announcement signals implementation of a key recommendation from the Report of the Irish Deer Management Strategy Group.
The change means an extension to the deer hunting season in the Republic of Ireland comes into effect from today allowing for the continuation of the hunting of female and antlerless deer until 31 March 2024 and males until 30 April 2024.
In addition, the 2024/2025 male deer hunting season will now begin at the earlier date of 1 August 2024.
In addition, the process to apply for a deer hunting licence is to be streamlined with a new online one stop shop for all licences to be put in place.
It is expected that applications for deer hunting licenses for the 2024/2025 seasons will be managed through the new portal.
The move is intended to bring the deer population back to sustainable levels locally and nationally.
Concerns have been raised about the damage caused due to overgrazing by deer both on farmland and in forests and also in respect of road safety due to the increasing deer population.
Tipperary Councillors appealed for action at the February meeting saying there were problems all across the county due to the increased Deer population which began to dramatically expand during the pandemic due to restrictions on travel and subsequently hunting.
