The deer population in West Waterford has grown exponentially in recent times and farmers are calling for the wild animals to be culled.
That's according to Cllr Pat Nugent who says at the moment, Sika and Fallow deer are roaming fields and forests from Knockanore to Ardmore.
According to the Department of Agriculture in Wicklow, scientific research has shown that the same strain of TB is circulating among cattle, deer and badgers. However, that research does not indicate whether deer are more likely to be infected by the other species or to pass the infection to them.
Cllr Nugent says herds of up to 20 Sika and Fallow deer are seen regularly in the area.
"Farmer's animals are out grazing and drinking out of the same water troughs as the deer - and if some of these deer are infected with TB (tuberculosis) that's where the problem lies.
"There are also issues with fencing - they break down all kinds of fencing- and there are serious dangers for the ordinary people who are driving.
"I have seen up to 20 deer grazing in the morning time", Cllr Nugent said.
The Department says that in other counties outside of Wicklow, TB in deer is much less common.
At the moment cattle and badgers are vaccinated against TB, but there's not a vaccine available for deer. Pat Nugent feels there needs to be a cull of the wild deer in West Waterford.
"I think there should be a severe cull at the moment and it's up to the Department to tell us what is happening.
"The numbers that are out there now are just quadrupling one year after another and when there's not a TB vaccine for deer out there.
"The situation with the deer, the miles that they can travel they're going to places that they've never gone to before and as far as sea-level which would have been unheard of", Cllr Nugent said.
Responding to WLR, the Department of Agriculture said there are no plans at present to vaccinate deer against TB, however, they said where farmers locally have concerns that deer may be a possible cause of TB in cattle they will test culled deer for TB free of charge.
Dr Nick McCarthy is Course Leader of Land Management in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry at WIT.
He says an extreme alternative to culling deer would be to introduce a predator into the wild...
"The other extreme would be to introduce a predator - but who wants to see a predator introduced like a wolf? The farmers especially wouldn't.
"The obvious answer if you're looking at a rewilding approach would be to introduce a predator but for the now the only predator deer have is man, " Dr McCarthy said.
He's calling on the Government to address the issues around the rising population.
"For years the population has increased and we're not seeing a culling policy being introduced and it needs to be introduced.
"Maybe now that farming and the agricultural lobby is feeling the impact of deer, we may see some movement on an actual culling policy from the government," Dr McCarthy said.
So how many deer are there? In a statement to WLR, the National Parks and Wildlife Service said:
"The National Parks and Wildlife Service only has a role in terms of managing deer herds within the National Parks. Control of deer outside our lands is a matter for the individual landowners. Deer are wild animals – the NPWS does not own or control the national population and does not have a deer census.”
Listen back to the report on the deer situation in West Waterford here:
https://www.spreaker.com/user/11231943/farmers-call-for-cull-of-deer-in-west-waterford
