Could reintroducing the lynx solve Ireland’s sika deer problem?

40 comments
  1. Jayyyyysus. Just shoot the feckers if they’re a problem.
    I don’t want to be in my tent and have this yoke snacking on my head!

  2. We don’t have enough wild spaces for them. They’d end up being poisoned by farmers during lambing season.

    Cull the deer right back, at least that will promote forest growth.

  3. Either that or wolves . The benefits to reintroduced apex predators would be absolutely profound . This has already been proven elsewhere most notably Yellowstone where the reintroduction of wolves transformed the flora and overall makeup of the landscape

  4. I propose we use the “Little Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly” approach. When the lynx get out of control we bring in wolves then polar bears then tigers and so forth and so on until eventually Tyrannosaurus Rex roam the Wicklow mountains.

  5. Like landlords, the farmers lobby is too powerful in this country. Plus from a practical point of view, we don’t have enough wild habitat to support these animals compared with somewhere like Scotland. Rural places like Mayo and Donegal have quiet large dispersed populations compared with the Scottish highlands.

  6. Sure fuck it. Bring back some predators to hunt the deer.

    If any uppity farmer gets a notion to shoot one: slap him with a massive fine.

    Fuck livestock anyone after meat can eat cockles and mussels.

  7. The Ireland that existed when lynx and wolves last lived here is long gone. There would be no place here for them now. Comparing them to eagles is pointless as they naturally nest in remote inaccessible places and the skies are free for them to roam unimpeded by people. I don’t understand the cull mentality in this country. Too many deer, too many pike, too many seals. Leave them alone to get on with it. Nature gets on much better left alone than when people intervene.

  8. Not only is this ridiculous considering we have no space for them, but it’s also just so fucking cruel to the deer. I’d take being shot over eaten alive by a lynx any day of the week, it’s barbaric. We seriously need to start looking into deer contraceptives, it’s already been successfully trialled in some areas of the US. Far more humane than shooting them or introducing a predator to eat them alive.

  9. If the deer are that much of an issue maybe extend the hunting season on them, plus encourage leaving a few of the corpses in the biome to help the local predator/scavenger populations

  10. The govt should make it easier for people to hunt the deer… How’s about starting with that. I’d happily go out and shoot deer for the freezer and help with the culling but hunting is generally a fucking rich boys club in this country

  11. Ireland does not need wild apex predators. If you really need to cull the deer, we already have five million of the most dangerous species on the planet. We nearly drove badgers into extinction with a little encouragement, I think we can handle deer. Stop trying to play ecological god in a small country with minimal forest cover.

  12. It’s a great idea. On a broader aspect, we need to rewild the country. It’s a green desert. Endless shite growing between Kildare and Galway and from Malin to Mizen. There’s very very little of our country that’s remotely wild.

    We should leave legacy that as much of Ireland goes back to wild as possible.

    Fuck farmers. Fuck cars. Shared Island means more than just a cross community soundbite, it’s something we should strive for with all our species here.

  13. The shite going on in these comments💀 lads cop on, we are chockablock with sheep. Bye bye livelihoods to our farmers lol.

    Besides, we had all these lovely animals and wolves n shite before the Brits showed up and mowed down our forests, killed us off etc. But unfortunately, they did come and our current ecosystem wouldn’t support the one we originally had. I’m no Einstein but there’s gotta be a different solution to an aul lynx💀

  14. only issue is there isn’t much landscape for them to have a habitat in, and then there is the risk of farmers losing stock and the potential impact on humans, they have little habitat to live in and will inevitably wander into farms and places where humans will be and possible kill livestock and child

  15. Any chance they are still in Ireland but keeping a low profile? Could have sworn on a bible (or whatever you’re having) that I saw one about 15 years ago in a field

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