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Visitors to Phoenix Park have been asked to practice social distancing and stay at least 50 meters from the wild deer population there, after rangers noted an increase in stress and malnutrition levels among the herd.
Officials at the Office of Public Works have asked that people not feed deer this year or invade them to take selfies.
OPW research has shown that the increasing number of visitors and recreation users at Phoenix Park during Covid-19 is causing undue stress on wild deer.
Dublin 8 Park has a herd of around 600 wild fallow deer grazing on its 707 hectares of lawns.
A ranger and a deer keeper told RTÉ News that feeding the deer can lead to competition among the herd for food, which could lead to injury.
Foods like carrots and bread, which visitors often give to deer, are harmful to deer and can actually cause malnutrition.
“They have been here 350 years and do not need any additional food or supplements.”
Park rangers have also noticed that people get too close to wild animals looking to take pictures with them.
Close contact can spread disease between people and deer, and deer can become nervous, which, given their size and speed, could lead to injury or injury to people.
Terry Moore, Park Ranger and Deer Keeper, said that interacting with deer can be dangerous for both them and people.
“It has become very alarming because it is more and more persistent that people are feeding the deer and I don’t think people are aware of the dangers involved,” he said.
“They are a big and strong animal, very powerful, they can get quite stressed when people get too close and it can cause competition within the herd for food and they will fight with each other and cause injuries, but also, they are injuries that could be caused to children little ones and people, what has happened in the past Our fear is that someone will be seriously injured.
“Our message is that people stay at least 50 meters away from the deer so that everyone can enjoy them. There is enough grass in the park to support a healthy herd,” he said.
“They have been here 350 years and do not need any additional food or supplement.
“I’ve seen a lot of injuries from competition when people feed them. One male will fight another for that food. Also, it causes a sugar spike and disrupts his natural digestive pattern.”
“If your distance from the deer makes them move, you’re too close.”
Fallow deer are ruminant, which means they ruminate their food after regurgitating previously consumed grass and digesting it further.
Park superintendent Paul McDonnell said that because their diet must consist solely of tough, fibrous grass, when people feed them other foods, it completely disrupts their natural cycle.
“In recent years, particularly at this time of year, we have noticed that people are getting very close to deer to take selfies and feed them,” he said.
“The deer here are herders, so their natural diet would be grass, and there is a lot of that here. Deer have a natural cycle during the day where they eat and then digest that grass, chew and then socialize and sleep, but when people get close they are interrupting this cycle for deer.
“If your distance from the deer makes them move, you are too close. Please don’t feed the deer, they eat grass and we have a lot of that.”
A great Christmas Eve tradition for many people is feeding the deer in Phoenix Park, but this can really put your health at risk as @moscannail He found out when he came out this morning. pic.twitter.com/0EEI603nLY
– RTÉ news2day (@ news2dayRTE) December 2, 2020
As an alternative to feeding the deer, the Phoenix Park staff has set up several mailboxes for the children to leave their letters to Rudolf.
Patrick O’Donovan, Minister of State responsible for the Office of Public Works, said that the OPW hopes this will become a Christmas tradition rather than people feeding the deer.
“We want people to come to Phoenix Park,” he said, “but we want people to keep in mind that this is the natural habitat of deer, so we want them to enjoy them but stay at least 50 meters behind and not feed “. them because it makes them sick.
“We’ve put mailboxes across the park so the kids can write to Rudolf and he can pass it on to Santa.”
Mailboxes will be located in the Papal Cross parking lot, the Phoenix Park Visitor Center parking lot, and the Camogie Grounds parking lot on Chesterfield Avenue in the lead up to Christmas.
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