PEOPLE HAVE BEEN asked to stop leaving carrots and other food near a busy roundabout on the outskirts of Bray in Co Wicklow, due to concerns for the safety of a young deer known to frequent the spot.

A meeting between Wicklow County Council officials, the gardaí and the staff from the National Parks and Wildlife Service is taking place today to discuss the issue. 

The deer has been seen periodically at the roundabout at Hills garage for several months.

Bray’s Bambi has become something of a local celebrity in the community, but some residents have raised concerns for the animal’s welfare and the danger it may pose to motorists.

The deer has been seen periodically at this roundabout. Google Streetview Google Streetview

The district administrator for the Bray Municipal District of the council confirmed in a letter to councillors that a meeting will be held today to figure out a way forward, and said relocation was one of the options being considered. 

The official wrote that one of the key issues highlighted was that people were leaving carrots and other food near the spots the deer had been seen. The practise could heighten the risk of traffic accidents – and relocation could be complicated if the deer becomes dependent on human feeding, he told council members. 

Deer are a lot more visible at this time of year, spokesperson for the Irish Deer Commission, Damien Hannigan, said.

“You tend to see deer in areas that you don’t normally see them at this time of the year,” as females get ready to give birth from May onwards, he added. 

Females tend to move around more as this season approaches so may come in contact with more people as they look for a place to have their young. 

They are discouraging concerned members of the public from feeding the deer Alamy Alamy

Hannigan said that deer have three basic requirements; “food, shelter and peace and quiet”. Urbanisation has become a big challenge for the latter, as towns and cities expand into the countryside. 

The location of this deer is “not ideal” according to Hannigan due to the risks for “its own safety” and “human health and safety”.

In order to relocate a deer, Hanningan said they can either be physically moved, though that involves the challenge of catching them, or they can be darted with a sedative and transported.

When they’re moved, deer “can quickly adapt to new habitat a new location”. 

Wicklow has highest deer population density in the country. Hannigan even said it is regarded as the “epicentre of deer”.

The most common deer found in Wicklow are sika and sika/red deer hybrids.