Cillian McLaughlin

That has increased, believe it or not, to 78,000 deer killed in 2023.

And go right back to when the cull started in 1995, there were 5,000 deer culled.

So something's telling me culling's not the answer here.

It's not working.

Exactly.

I mean, it really is a shot in the dark at the moment that we just send the army out in and shoot away until...

We get what we want to achieve.

And I don't think there's even an answer to that either, Clare.

I mean, what does success look like?

Do we exterminate our native deer?

Now, the Sika deer was introduced.

The red deer is a native animal to Ireland, and it's an integral part of our ecosystem.

It's vitally important for the regeneration of forestry, believe it or not.

And when it overpopulates, it can have a negative impact on forestry.

But the deer go into the forest, they open up the canopy, they allow light through the small endangered

plants that we have here, like orchids thrive, insects thrive with that light getting through the canopy.

So deer are really important.

Let's not villainize our native species here.

Now, what actually happens, to get back to your question,

Deer, like everything in nature, they're very good at surviving.