82% support cull of deer in Phoenix Park

A PuBLIC consultation on the future management of the population of deer in Ireland and the Phoenix Park has found widespread support for culling. In the 12 months to February 2022, more than 55,000 deer were culled in Ireland.

The consultation was conducted as part of the development of a national deer management strategy.

The consultation on the future management of the deer population in Ireland found that a large majority of respondents agree that wild deer are impacting biodiversity, land management and road safety, and culling was deemed the most important action to address the problems.

The consultation was carried out from december to last February on behalf of the deer Management strategy Group that was established to look at the issue by the Government in 2022.

respondents were asked their views on the impact of deer on a range of issues.

1,512 submissions were received from farmers, foresters, ecologists, academics, nGOs and public bodies.

The results seen by rtÉ news found that 82% of people said that deer are negatively impacting biodiversity. 81% said the animals are damaging agricultural land and the same percentage of respondents agreed that they are a road safety concern.

A majority of the respondents also felt that deer are damaging forestry and they expressed a concern that the animals are a tuberculosis (tB) threat to bovines.

Asked to rank management options in order of importance, 86% chose deer culling, 78% also supported allowing landowners to manage deer.

A majority of people supported contracting hunters and gamekeepers to enable effective population management of the animal, developing a market for wild venison and extending the hunting season.

The group is chaired by teddy Cashman and includes officials from the department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the national Parks and Wildlife service and Coillte.

The nationwide partnership between Deliveroo and FoodCloud aims to tackle the twin issues of food waste and food insecurity by providing 500,000 meals for people facing food insecurity across the country. For every €1 raised, 3.2 meals will be provided to people facing food insecurity.

Through the partnership with FoodCloud, Deliveroo is aiming to save 210 million tonnes of food from going to waste.

Parents to get new baby bundle

Hundreds of expectant parents are to receive a range of supplies for their new arrival under a pilot scheme beginning in dublin and Waterford.

The so-called “baby bundle” will include toys to encourage early communication, items to help the safe bathing of infants as well as a range of household supports to help new parents after the birth.

300 families from the rotunda Hospital and 150 families attending Waterford university Hospital were invited to take part in the pilot.

The items will be delivered to the homes of participating parents at a time of their choosing. Parents taking part in the initiative will subsequently be asked to share their views and experiences of the baby bundle and its contents.

The Government has said this feedback will inform the development of proposals for a wider national roll-out.

Minister for Children roderic O’Gorman has said that he hopes this will provide a “real sense... of how well the scheme works”.

He added that the Government has seen “how well this scheme works in other jurisdictions”.