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However, a ban on the shooting of four wild bird species also comes into effect today.
Thousands of licensed hunters across the country are entitled to shoot male deer in areas where they have a permit to do so.
Hunting of male deer is permitted from September 1 until the end of the year and hunting of female deer is open from November 1 through to the end of February.
Meanwhile, a ban on the shooting of four wild bird species comes into effect today as open season begins for hunters.
Scaup, goldeneye, pochard and pintail – all varieties of wild duck whose populations are dwindling – can now not be shot any time of the year.
But that still leaves 11 species of conservation concern on the revised list of 17 wild birds that can be hunted during open season between now and the end of January.
Heritage Minister Malcolm Noon said the four removals were “just the starting point” of reviewing the open season list.
In the past 30 years only one other bird was removed from it, the critically endangered curlew which was only taken off the list in 2012.
“While this announcement is a significant step forward for the protection of wild birds, I would stress that this is just the starting point of a process of change as to how the Open Season Order can work better for the conservation of birds in Ireland,” Mr Noonan said.
“I’m committed to strengthening the evidence base that informs decision-making around the OSO, and to that end I am prioritising the collection of biological and hunting data evidence for five key species and commencing the development of management plans for key species and sites.”
The five species his department will now focus on are red grouse, golden plover, common snipe, jack snipe and woodcock.
Mr Noonan said he also intended to establish a Sustainable Hunting of Wild Birds Stakeholder Forum and would announce the details of it in the coming weeks.
Most wild birds are protected from hunting most of the year with looser regulations in relation to birds that are categorised as pests, including pigeons, wood pigeons, crows, rooks, magpies and herring gulls.
Outside of the nesting and breeding season, however, shooting of other species is allowed and the Open Seasons Order is renewed every year to permit this to happen.
Meanwhile, as deer hunting season begins, a spokesperson for the Irish Deer Commission, a group promoting the management and conservation of the national deer population, acknowledged the management of an animal’s population is “an emotive topic”.
“Deer can also have a negative impacts on farming, forestry and the wider ecosystem where their numbers become unsustainable relevant to their habitat.
“In the absence of a natural predator, it falls on man to manage deer numbers at sustainable levels and maintain a balance between land use and deer.”
The Irish Deer Commission added: “An unmanaged deer herd can quickly get out of control with a population increasing by 25 to 30pc if not managed.
“Restrictions around the Covid-19 pandemic and a government decision not to make deer management an essential activity created the perfect storm for deer numbers to increase.”
A record number of deer were culled in the year to February 2022 when 55,008 wild deer were shot dead.
Some 6,237 hunters were licensed to hunt deer in 2022 and so far this year 5,136 hunters have been issued with a license.
Deer hunting licenses are valid from August 1 to July 31 2024. In order to receive a license one has to complete a deer hunting course, hold a licensed high-powered firearm and have permission to hunt on land of at least 100 acres.
Male red deer can also be hunted everywhere except for Co Kerry as they are the only native herd left in Ireland.
The rest of the red deer population originally descends from English, German and New Zealand deer that bred with the native herd.
The Government convened the Deer Management Strategy Group to determine how to manage the deer population in 2022, a successor to the Irish Deer Management Forum which last met four years prior in 2018.
A public consultation earlier this year overwhelmingly called for a cull of the national deer herd. 82pc of 1,500 respondents to the survey said the deer herd is damaging biodiversity, while 86pc supported a cull.
Other concerns from respondents to the survey included damage to agricultural crops or grazing, road safety, preventing the establishment of new forests and the spread of tuberculosis (TB) in cattle.
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said when the public consultation was launched that the management of the deer population is vital for both agricultural and ecosystems.
“For agriculture as well as our nature ecosystems, it is important that we are aware of the need for the sustainable management of our national deer population.
“These include the protection of biodiversity, newly planted forestry, pasture and crops, road safety, animal health, public health, and not least the health and welfare of the deer themselves,” he said.
The eradication of bovine TB was one of the primary reasons the Deer Management Strategy Group was reconvened in 2022.
78pc of respondents said financial supports should be provided for landowners to manage deer and 69pc said the venison industry in Ireland should be expanded.
The Deer Management Strategy Group is scheduled to publish its final report in the early autumn.
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