The number of road accidents involving red deer in Kerry is "minuscule", and the deer pose no greater difficulty to the travelling public than big dogs or other animals, the Garda in Killarney has said.
This contradicts claims by farming organisations and local politicians in the Kilgarvan and south Kerry area that the red deer have become a menace on roads and a danger to motorists.
The claims follow the announcement that there is to be open season outside the national park on the protected red deer, the country's last remaining native reds, from September in the case of stags, and November in the case of hinds.
The move to permit the reds to be shot under licence has angered conservationists. They fear a return to the Victorian- and Edwardian-style shooting parties that drove the deer to near-extinction. Thousands of deer were wiped out and Killarney held the remaining few.
Killarney National Park is largely unfenced and it is likely the stags targeted by trophy hunters will come from the park. Farming organisations had asked for a cull outside the park to be conducted out by park and Wildlife Service rangers, but this was refused.
Sgt Dermot O'Connell of Killarney said gardaí had analysed road accidents in the Kilgarvan/Killarney area. In 2003 deer were responsible for just one accident. There had been no dramatic increase since, and if accidents involving red deer were taking place they were not being reported to the Garda, he said.
Big dogs, horses, sheep and cattle were just as responsible for accidents, he said. If the red deer posed a particular threat, the Garda would be the first to want to alert the public, he added.