By Róise Collins

A FALCARRAGH-based councillor has welcomed the appointment of coordinators to lead dedicated Deer Management Units in Donegal.

Councillor Michael McClafferty, who has consistently raised concerns about the growing deer population and the risks it poses to road users since his election to Donegal County Council, described the recent announcement as “great progress.”

The independent councillor had previously submitted a motion to the council calling for the implementation of a deer culling policy in Donegal, and even proposed that the Defence Forces be drafted in to help address the problem.

Fifteen Deer Management Units have now been established in areas across Ireland that are known hotspots for wild deer. This initiative was a key recommendation in the final report recently published by the Deer Management Strategy Group.

The units were set up in locations where data such as native woodland monitoring, commercial forest inventories, and road traffic accident statistics, indicate that deer impacts are particularly significant.

Speaking to the Donegal News, Cllr McClafferty recalled a number of “near misses” involving deer on roads, particularly in west Donegal.

These included an incident where a vehicle carrying two adults and a child collided with a deer on the outskirts of Dungloe, and another where an ambulance responding to a call in the area struck a deer.

FRS Co-Op was awarded the contract in February of this year to implement several recommendations, including establishing the units and appointing local coordinators to work with landowners and hunters.

The coordinators’ role will be to connect landowners in deer-affected hotspot areas with licensed hunters, with the goal of bringing the wild deer population down to a sustainable level

While the co-op will not directly employ any hunters, it will oversee coordination with local hunters and hunting groups who wish to take part in the deer management programme.