Wild deer can become a source of valuable income in Mayo
COUNTRYFILE
WORD is getting out that Mayo has become home to a surviving if not thriving population of red deer.
While many who make their living from the land are calling for a focused and determined culling programme, there are an equal number who are thrilled to see these large wild animals roaming the hills once more.
It must be nearly a century since anyone interested in doing so could venture out with a reasonable prospect of seeing deer. Now it is not unusual to see small groups in roadside fields – if you know where to look.
Hunting and shooting has kept these animals on their toes, forcing them into an almost nocturnal existence.
Ordinarily, red deer are crepuscular animals which prefer to feed through the half-light of dusk and dawn. At this time of year, with the breeding season upon them, they even hang around their chosen feeding grounds through the day.
A word on the shooting and the much-vaunted deer cull; if you or your neighbours happen to be plagued by deer and somebody wants to come and shoot them for you, just make sure they do a proper job and shoot the female members of the herd.
Most hunters will be looking for trophy heads, those with the biggest antlers. When the larger stags are shot the females and lesser males will be disturbed and much harder to approach.
Each of the fertile females will still mate with a lesser stag to produce a calf next spring and the problem of overpopulation will be far from solved.
The answer is to cull the female herd and let the better males fight things out between themselves. In this way the number of calves is reduced while the overall health of remaining animals is improved year on year.
This approach has been adopted in many of the more famous deer-producing areas of Europe, including such places as the world renowned Richmond Park and Bushy Park in the United Kingdom, both of which attract huge numbers of tourists who gather to watch the annual rut.
The red deer of Mayo are not native, but are descended from farmed stock which were released into the wild about 20 years ago.
As such, they have excellent genetics and are capable of producing stags of enormous size – just the thing to attract plenty of visitors during what is normally a quiet time of year for the tourist industry.
Many landowners who currently suffer from an influx of deer onto their property aren't too troubled by what means a hungry herd can be kept away from their valuable crops.
They are happy to hear of a successful hunt and pleased that the remaining herd have been moved on to pastures new.
A longer term view of managing deer efficiently is needed. We will (hopefully) not shoot them out altogether, as happened 100 years ago, but will earn to co-exist while benefiting from the undoubted attraction of having them about the place.
To see wild red deer in their prime, head north to the pleasing towns of Ballycroy and Bangor Erris, where a warm welcome awaits.
Local knowledge will put you in the right direction. Even alone, your ears will soon hear the sound of roaring stags or even the clash of antlers as two testosterone-fueled stags fights for rank among the hinds.
Just don't get too close. While the goring of people is uncommon, it is never pleasant.
It is not the fault of the animal, which is just a beast doing its thing. With proper management the wild deer can become a source of valuable income rather than a pest to be shot on sight.