Cillian McLaughlin

They've survived for millions of years.

So when we take animals out of the population, the deer biologically, however they do this, become aware of that.

And what we see is what's called a rebound population.

So young, once those adult animals are taken out of the population, young hinds, which is a female red deer and Sika come in season a year earlier.

So they start breeding a lot younger.

The young stags that are maybe pushed off the breeding grounds into the forests and hiding in the ditches,

they come out then and they all start breeding.

So we get this rebound in the population and it bounces back very quickly and it's a natural response to a reduction in the population.

See, Clare, this is why what really alarms me, our answer to everything in this country is to cull, okay?

Who says seals are responsible for the reduction in salmon population?

What about pollution?

What about the way we're managing our farmed salmon and the lice and the problems that the salmon farms... I live beside the Loxwilly here and wild salmon have to swim past salmon farms where they pick up all sorts of diseases and they don't get as far as the rivers.

So it's really, you know, what next?

What do we start culling next?

You know,

Michail mentioned there about the deer collisions on the road.

Is that really the deer?

Is the deer really the problem there?

I don't know.

Well, of course, but we also have to take into consideration the other factors, not just the deer population.