What can be done

Red Deer

Originally an animal of woodland edges, red deer in Ireland are now more usually found in mountain and moorland areas, as most lowland forests were cleared for farming over the centuries.

Copyright Mike Brown

Red Deer
Copyright Mike Brown

Red Deer

Originally an animal of woodland edges, red deer in Ireland are now more usually found in mountain and moorland areas, as most lowland forests were cleared for farming over the centuries.

Copyright Mike Brown

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 Measures can be taken to protect our biodiversity and prevent further loss of native plants, animal and habitat.

 1. The creation of carefully chosen protected areas ensure that all regional ecosystems are represented.

2. Economic incentives to conserve biodiversity can provide motivation to use ecosystem services sustainable.

Teagasc's Irish Afforestation Grant and Premium Scheme provides a package to encourage the planting of forests by compensating forest owners for the costs of forest establishment.

3. Prevention and early intervention have proven to be the most successful and cost-effective way of tackling invasive species.  A particularly prominent Irish example is the hybridization between native Red deer (Cervus elaphus) and Sika deer (Cervus nippon nippon).

In some areas, up to 40% of deer are mongrelised, permanently polluting the gene pool and changing the appearance and behaviour of the native deer over generations.

4. Strong institutions at all levels are essential to support biodiversity conservation. International agreements need to include enforcement measures, with most direct actions to halt or reduce biodiversity loss to be taken at local or national level.

In Ireland, the Government adheres to the National Biodiversity Plan of 2002.