Dr. Fidelma Butler and Dr Ruth Carden, University College Cork, are leading a research team who have been awarded a grant by the Dept. of Agriculture, Food & the Marine to examine the use of forests by deer in Ireland. This three year project seeks to quantify deer populations, habitat and silvicultural elements that influence local deer population densities and behavioural patterns.
Methods for genetic fingerprinting of faecal pellets will be developed at Waterford Institute of Technology and used to estimate deer densities. The findings of this work will inform national deer management strategy.
An important part of this project is the assessment of how people across the island of Ireland view the presence of wild deer in the landscape. To this end a survey of the public perception and awareness of deer is being conducted. Further information on this project can be found at www.ucc.ie/en/forestecology/Research/FORDEER
You can complete the survey in less than 5 minutes here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FORDEER
