EU consider classifying sika deer as an invasive species
Sika deer are known to pose a threat to forestry and agriculture and have also been blamed for road traffic collisions by landing on car bonnets and causing drivers to swerve. File picture: Dan Linehan
Sika deer, which are being blamed for damaging habitats and creating hazards for passing motorists, may be classified as an invasive species by the European Commission.
The species was introduced to Ireland by Lord Powerscourt in 1860. The main herds are in Kerry, Wicklow, Tyrone and Fermanagh.
But they are also found in parts of Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, Cork and Donegal and more recently in Waterford, Galway, Limerick and Wexford.
Sika deer are known to pose a threat to forestry and agriculture and have also been blamed for road traffic collisions by landing on car bonnets and causing drivers to swerve.
Kerry Fianna Fáil TD Michael Cahill asked the minister for agriculture Martin Heydon in the Dáil if the Deer Management Strategy Group is considering the total removal of the Japanese Sika species to protect native red deer and native oak forests.
The minister said there is ongoing work at EU level on whether Sika deer will be classified as an invasive species.Currently, they are not classed as an invasive species. However, one of the objectives of the deer management programme is to protect native woodlands.
A reduction in deer density in specific areas will help to protect native woodlands. If Sika deer are contributing to this issue, they will be part of the cull in the areas covered by the deer management units, he said.
Tipperary North Fianna Fáil TD Ryan O'Meara also asked the minister last week for an update on the strategy including the establishment of local deer management units.
Minister Heydon said the strategy report concluded that a formal structure was required to manage deer in Ireland.
It would involve the appointment of a Programme Manager to implement the recommendations and the establishment of local deer management units in known hotspot areas.
The locations of the deer management units have been finalised. These aim to give the best geographic coverage to reduce the density of deer in these areas.
Tipperary is covered in one of these areas, he said.
Heritage minister James Browne, replying to Kerry Sinn Féin TD Pa Daly in the Dáil earlier this year, said the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) is acutely aware of the impact that non-native animal species, such as deer and goats, can have on the habitats in Killarney National Park, particularly on native flora.
Where appropriate and depending on the annual count and instances of damage caused by deer to habitats, especially woodland, culls are carried out on National Park lands.
This is to ensure that deer populations do not reach levels that would have negative ecological consequences.
Regarding deer management within the park, culling is a regular and ongoing operation and is undertaken periodically when resources, weather and timing permit.
This allows the NPWS to work towards sustainable herd management, and, as such, there is a need to remove a certain percentage of animals from the herd on an ongoing basis.
A total 461 sika deer were culled in the park between 2019 and 2024. During the same period, 501 red deer were culled.
However, the management of an ecosystem – particularly where it involves a resource and time-intensive intervention such as culling – needs to be targeted and evidence-based to ensure maximum benefit.
In 2022, a commissioned report indicated that between 2018 and 2021 there was a 13% decline in sika deer numbers, underlining the effectiveness of carrying out intensive culling in specific areas.
Meanwhile, a conservation group, ReWild Wicklow, recently called for a deer management plan after a project it carried out noted that the sika species was dominating local deer populations.
The group set up 47 cameras across 220 sq/km of forest land in the county to observe wildlife behaviour over two months.
Of the 6,300 wild mammal events captured by the cameras, 72% were of sika deer.
