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Angry protest over National Park deer cull

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PROTEST: Ted Cronin of the Party for Animal Welfare with a group of protesters outside Killarney National Park on Wednesday morning.

 

By Sean Moriarty

 

The Party for Animal Welfare - who staged a protest at the gates of Killarney National Park early Wednesday morning - is calling for a contraceptive style approach to reduce the deer herd in Killarney.

The group, who were out at 7.30am and left just after 9am, were raising concerns over the current deer cull taking place in the Park.

The cull, which is approved and managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), has been taking place once a week for the last two weeks. Next Wednesday (March 11) has been set aside for the final day of the annual cull and the Park will be closed between 6.30am and 11.30am.

Latest figures show that there were 120 deer culled during the 2017-18 season and that 272 were culled last year.

Animal rights activist and recent General Election hopeful Ted Cronin led Wednesday’s protest.

He says there are other ways of controlling the deer population.

“Shooting deer is the easy way out, there are other methods,” the party’s deputy leader told the Killarney Advertiser. “The contraceptive method is used a lot in America, animals could be transported to different parts of the country too and while a journey in a horsebox would be stressful for the deer it is still better than killing them.”

Killarney enjoys a love-hate relationship with Ireland’s oldest animal.

Deer are an important part of the tourist experience but growing numbers have led to calls for culls as deer frequently wander into the town centre and they have been blamed for several road traffic accidents – some fatal – in recent years.

“Imagine a telling a tourist that the deer they were looking at yesterday have now been shot dead - they would not want to come back to Killarney,” added Cronin. “If there are only 10 deer left in the Park, they can jump out in front of a car at any time too.”

Cronin claims Wednesday’s cull was cut short after a member of the protest group entered the National Park, and the park rangers were unable to locate that person so had to stop the shooting for safety reasons.

However, this was denied by the NPWS.

“The cull was neither called off nor interrupted by protest. The cull was completed in full. No people were in the Park during the cull. We would stress that culling is a regular management operational activity of the Park. It would have been an incredibly reckless and irresponsible action had any protestors trespassed during the cull, which had been clearly signed and advertised in the interests of public safety,” said a statement issued to the Killarney Advertiser.

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Bumper GAA weekend in town

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Killarney is set for a bumper GAA weekend as Kerry faces Cavan in a do-or-die All-Ireland Senior Football Championship preliminary quarter-final.

The game is scheduled for Saturday, June 21st, at Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, with a 3:30pm throw-in and traffic and parking restrictions will be in place on the bypass and on all approach roads.
Kerry will be looking to recover quickly from their recent defeat to Meath in their final round-robin match.
The match will be streamed live on GAA+. Radio Kerry will provide live commentary with Timmy Moynihan and Ambrose O’Donovan. Jerome Henry will officiate the match.
This game is one of four All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals. The other Munster county still in the championship, Cork, will play Dublin at Croke Park at 6:15pm on Saturday, with that game also broadcast on GAA+.

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Killarney café to host free event in aid of local charity

A local cafe in Killarney is hosting an event to celebrate cherished sporting memories in Killarney. The event is taking place in Clann Housing, Coill na Darrach on June 28 […]

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A local cafe in Killarney is hosting an event to celebrate cherished sporting memories in Killarney.

The event is taking place in Clann Housing, Coill na Darrach on June 28 and it is part of the wider Alzheimer Society of Irelands sporting memories initiative.

There will be stories, photographs, and memorabilia shared on the day.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is organising a sporting memories initiative which aims to harness the power of sport to spark memories and create connections with people living with dementia.

John Don O’Donoghue, who is a joint organiser of the event, is emphasising the importance of events like these for those who suffer with dementia.

He said: “They offer people, especially older adults and those living with dementia, a meaningful way to reconnect – not just with their memories, but with each other. We’ve seen first-hand how powerful it can be when someone’s face lights up remembering a match, a goal, or a moment they thought was long forgotten.”

All members of the community are welcome to attend and take part. The event is free and guests are encouraged to bring their own photos, memorabilia and stories to share.

For more information, please contact: Triona Heffernan or John Don O’ Donoghue Email: soccermemoriescafe@gmail.com

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