Game on as hunters meet their match

GO WILD IRELAND:IN THE darkness before morning, Donal, our intuitive stalker and guide, took a piece of tissue from his pocket and let it drift into the air – we would have to take the mountain by the west face.

The skills of deer stalking require the hunter to beat the deer’s senses. These beautiful creatures could smell us from three miles away, hence the tissue in our pursuit of the elusive sika deer – you have to track downwind of your prey. No deodorant or perfume are permissible, and it wouldn’t be beyond a hardcore hunter to roll in badger or fox excrement to mask their scent and blend into the territory. Deer also have acute sight and hearing, so communication as we move across the rugged terrain near Killarney National Park is via hand signals and whispers.

Greg, a Belgian with a penchant for hunting, was on his second visit to stalk pure-bred feral sika in Kerry, which offers the most demanding deer stalking in the world. These marvellous creatures, known as the phantom or ghost deer throughout Europe due to their evasive nature, are the greatest trophy of deer hunting as they are up to four times more difficult to stalk than any other deer.

Not only do their pelages change with the seasons to blend with ferns and mossy undergrowth, they can also reach speeds of 55kmh, clear three-metre fences and swim up to 12km. They have one predator in Ireland – man.

Camouflaged and scentless, the three of us clamber up a colossal craggy mountain near Beaufort at first light in search of a stag. Greg had the gun, a rather intimidating rifle with a huge telescopic lens slung across his back. The bullets were scary 7mm capsules that can kill at a distance of three miles.

Halfway up the wind changed and was at our back: now we would have to alter course. The rocky terrain resembled a scene from The Lord of the Ringsas an eagle hovered overhead hoping us hunters might share the viscera.

We climbed for hours, getting deeper into the valleys and further from civilisation as the rain pelted down in a howling wind. After three hours came the whistle. We sank in silence to the ground with our faces down for fear the stag would spy us. He was whistling for his harem as we lay low, silent and still.

Donal, through binoculars, scouted the horizon for the stag. He pointed two fingers north – two hinds were feeding by a waterfall and were so perfectly camouflaged that their white tails were the only indicator of their presence. The stag stood further up the mountain, surveying his kingdom. Donal and I waited while Greg ascended stealthily alongside the waterfall to get a clear shot.

As Greg loaded his gun, this was the moment of reckoning – my dinner versus an elegant animal in rutting season. Greg fired and the echo resonated off the mountains as we watched the hinds disperse and disappear, blending perfectly into the mountain. The stag ran but stopped. Was he injured? The hunter knows if an animal is injured. He needs to track it, regardless of time, weather and light to put it out of its misery. Our stag had escaped injury. Part of me felt relieved. It was fair game: a balanced competition between us and the stag. We had the ammunition but he had the speed.

On our way back, climbing out of a river on to higher ground, my fellow hunters lay low. We had another chance. Down I slid with my pulse racing as Greg took another shot. Torrential rain saved the stag as Greg could not get a proper sighting through the foggy lens. The stag fled far into the valley and vanished. We descended the mountains empty handed, soaked from the torrents that felt like shards of glass on our faces in the high winds.

Joining other hunters from all over Europe at the lodge, none had any luck that morning but all resolved to try again that evening as the deer emerged from their day’s slumber. These hunters cannot take their quarry home, so the heads are mounted by a local taxidermist and their trophies posted to them.

Because I did not own a rifle licence, shooting was not an option, which made the challenge of catching dinner slightly more difficult. Instead, I bartered half of a wild salmon I had caught with John, owner of the shooting lodge, for a deer shot a few days previously. After skinning the animal, I left the wild mountains of Kerry and stopped at a friend’s house to overnight in Limerick.

Announcing that dinner was in the car boot frenzied laughter ensued as my fellow diners realised that dinner was a carcass weighing over 70kg. In aprons and armed with a few saws and knives – while watching a YouTube video for guidance – we butchered the deer and dined like kings.

- John Mangan is based in Killorglin, Co Kerry but the deer stalking takes place in a vast area, from the Gap of Dunloe to Beaufort and Black Valley.

- Accommodation Blackstones House, Glencar, Co Kerry. glencar-blackstones.com, 066- 9760164. BB: €30pps. Grove Lodge Country House BB, Killorglin, Co Kerry. 066-9761157, grovelodge.com. BB: €35pps.

Profile: John Mangan

A PROFESSIONAL cyclist for 14 years, Kerryman John Mangan lost part of his hip in a shooting accident but still lives and breathes hunting.

“Sika deer are not native to Ireland and were introduced by Lord Powerscourt in 1859,” he says. “With no natural predators, like wolves, Sika must be culled to control the population as they have become destructive to trees, crops and woodlands.”

Mangan has the tender to cull and control the sika population in Kerry. “A good hunter is not a cold-blooded killer,” he says. “He or she understands and respects nature, and then does everything in their power to outwit it.”

Mangan is concerned by the practise of “lamping”, whereby people in cars drive around at night and catch deer, almost literally in their headlights, and shot them illegally through windows or sunroofs. “The animal does not have a chance and many are left injured to die a slow death.”

If you have witnessed illegal poaching you should contact the relevant authorities: your local Garda; or the National Parks and Wildlife Service (npws.ie); or file a report on wilddeerireland.com under its “report a wildlife crime” section.

- Mangan charges €140 for a guide for two guns for morning and evening shoots, plus €200 if a deer is shot (heavy animals need to be taken down from the mountains which can take hours). Mangan cannot sell his meat as he cannot have a vet on hand to certify each animal. But he will often barter his quarry. jmmhunting.com

Stalking deer in Ireland

What you need

To hunt deer in Ireland you need a licence to “hunt exempted wild mammals” from the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The hunting season varies depending on sex, the type of deer and the location. A rifle licence is also necessary – a shotgun licence will not suffice. Permission, under strict regulation, is available from the superintendent of your local Garda district. See deeralliance.ie for hunter competence assessment.

Wicklow

To hunt hybrid sika in the Garden County contact John Fintan of Croghan Valley Group, 045-40947.

Kildare

Broomfield Lodge offers deer hunting excursions, broomfieldlodge.com.

Website

The Wild Deer Association of Ireland, which was established in 1981, represents those involved in deer management, deer stalking and people with an interest in the conservation and well-being of Ireland’s wild deer herds. wilddeerireland.com.

Wild venison

ARCHAEOLOGICAL research shows that humans were eating venison 50,000 years ago.

A healthy alternative to other meat, it is lower in fat and calories than skinned chicken, has a higher iron, omega 3, vitamin B and zinc content than any other red meat, and is very low in cholesterol.

Wild deer have never had an antibiotic, hormone or chemical, which makes it one of the healthiest meats you can eat.

Many dispute the origin of the gamey taste.

Some claim overhanging, improper handling or hanging at too high a temperature while others blame too much tallow or believe it’s just a deer that enjoyed too many acorns.

If the gamey taste is not to your preference soak it overnight in milk or buttermilk.

Wild deer could be susceptible to contracting TB but, according to the Department of Agriculture, this is very rare due to the solitary nature of deer.