Severed deer heads found in NationalPark

THE gruesome discovery of seven deer heads in a waste bin at a section of Killarney National Park has caused public outcry and raises questions over the National Park and Wildlife Services’ strategy for culling native Red Deer, that’s according to the Chairman of the Wild Deer Association of Ireland, Damian Hannigan.

It still remains unclear who placed the severed heads in the bin, which Mr Hannigan says were discovered by a member of the public when out walking in a section of National Park adjacent to Mill Road last Sunday.

The shocking image of seven severed deer heads - six young female Red Deer and what is believed to be a six-month-old calf – have caused wide scale public distress on social media.

However, Mr Hannigan claimed the discovery has ‘ backfired’ on the NPWS and the controversial decision to cull native Red deer in Killarney National Park and also calls into question Minister Humphreys’ assurances “that only old and infirm animals would be culled” and that “the culling will be done by qualified and competent National Parks and Wildlife personnel and in the most responsible and ethical manner possible”.

He added: “There are basically two issues here insofar as Minister Humphreys gave assurances that old or infirm animals would be culled. This discovery of young female deer heads and that of a calf is clearly not the case. The second issue is that by culling at night you simply can’t identify healthy from unhealthy animals.”

“Under normal deer management strategy you would always cull the calf first because if you shoot the female first you risk leaving the calf isolated

“We’re not opposed to culling, but we’re opposed to indiscriminate culling,” concluded Damian.

When contacted for a comment on Tuesday evening, the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht said that no official statement has been released as yet regarding the discovery and footage.