DEAR EDITOR

Further to last week’s report in the Irish Farmers Journal regarding the proposed expansion of the national parks, it is time the State managed the land it already owns before expanding further.

A a farmer on the edge of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, I have seen the rapid expansion of the deer population in the last 20 years. The principal reason for this expansion has been lack of deer management by both the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Coillte. Farmers like myself do our best to control deer numbers on our own land but in reality we are only providing a vacuum for deer coming in from the park. It is no surprise, therefore, that we have one of the highest TB levels in the country.

Furthermore, it appears that in the national park there is no effort to control predators such as grey crows and magpies which has added more pressure on ground nesting birds, such as the curlew, which are already on the red list.