Former taoiseach Charles Haughey has assured concerned deer lovers that the herd of red deer on his island of Inishvickillane has recently undergone a licensed cull and is in good condition.
Mr Haughey issued a statement to The Irish Times yesterday after a leading member of the Kerry Deer Society expressed concern that the herd could have grown too large to be sustained on the island.
Secretary of the society Pat Cronin was yesterday to write to Mr Haughey asking for a breakdown of stags and hinds, and the number and condition of the animals. The society's agm, held in Killarney on Monday, decided to seek information on the condition of red deer sent to Inishvickillane.
A stag and two hinds were sent there in the 1970s, extra stags had been sent from time to time since to strengthen the bloodlines, and the number is thought to have reached 100, the meeting was told.
Long-standing member Paddy MacMonagle said he was concerned about the situation of the red deer on Inishvickillane and wondered if the island would sustain "that kind of growth" in numbers. There were also questions from the floor if supplementary feeding was given to the island herd.
However, Mr Haughey said yesterday that the Inishvickillane herd was subject to regular licensed culls. "This year's cull has recently been completed", he said.
In a statement issued through a spokeswoman, he also rejected suggestions that the herd was not in good condition.
"A Kerry wildlife ranger has recently given his opinion to the effect that the Inishvickillane red deer herd is in much better condition that the herd on the Killarney mountains," he said.
The agm of the deer society, which saved the species from extinction, heard expressions of concern that native herds were being threatened by over-grazing of farm animals on park meadow lands, unmonitored movement of deer around the country and pressure by a growing hunting lobby to be allowed to hunt red deer.
The society has called on the Government to set up a national management body for the study and protection of deer. It will oppose any moves to allow red deer in Kerry to be hunted.
Local councillor Michael Healy-Rae recently revealed he had applied for a hunting licence to shoot deer in the wild in Kerry, after attempts to get the National Parks and Wildlife Service to carry out a cull on deer on roads outside the Killarney National Park failed.
Fine Gael senator Paul Coghlan told the meeting if culls were necessary, they should be carried out on non-native species.