A new smart phone based app has been launched to monitor deer in Ireland in the first co-ordinated approach.
Funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and led by University College Dublin (UCD) the study will observe deer distribution and density in Ireland.
The SmartDeer project collects and analysing real-time data relating to the Irish deer population. The information will help produce up-to-date distribution maps and ensure nationally-coordinated data is collected and stored.
Dr Simone Ciuti, UCD assistant professor of wildlife biology, said that currently the only information that exists is collected locally and in different formats and said: “There are no up-to-date distribution maps or information about deer density. The information is fragmented.”
Dr Ciuti said this scattered knowledge means that any challenges posed by the deer population cannot be adequately planned for, or managed.
“The project will help us monitor the status and health of our deer populations and to face upcoming challenges of deer management under climate and land-use change scenarios,” he added.
For the farming community this will be useful as recently published research suggested that growing populations of Sika deer may be linked to local outbreaks of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in cattle in the Republic of Ireland.
Now farmers can take action by contributing to this new monitoring system and provide real-time information on sightings and numbers of deer on their farms.
“Dr Ciuti said there is still very little known about the role of wildlife. “We know that the deer is a host, but this will be the first time that bTB in deer can be monitored in real time – that is important.
The app will help with the collection of deer presence and density data, culling returns and random sightings. Deer data shared by farmers will be protected by data sharing agreements. Farmers will remain anonymous and their privacy will be respected.
LSL News.