An elderly farmer has been gored to death by a stag on his son's deer farm near Kilrush, Co Clare. This is the first such death in the State.
Mr Matthew O'Shea (72), from Moyafta, Kildimo, Co Limerick, had been tending deer on the farm at the time of the fatal accident.
He had arranged to feed the deer for his son and left his home at 6 p.m. His son became alarmed when he failed to return at 9 p.m. Mr O'Shea's body was found in the deer pen with extensive injuries to his head and abdomen. A post-mortem was held in Ennis County Hospital yesterday. An inquest will be held later.
Mr Michael O'Dowd, of Teagasc, an expert on deer-rearing, said last night that stags were extremely dangerous when they were rutting.
He warned deer farmers not to enter pens where stags were being kept at this time of year except in exceptional circumstances.
"We advise deer farmers to remove the antlers and to stay away from stags at this time of the year if possible," he said.
"If a farmer has to enter a pen where a stag is being held, they should drive in on a tractor with a good cab, and if they have to leave the tractor they should dismount on the opposite side to where the stag is located," he said.
He said a stag would attack without warning because they were very territorial.
"If you have to deliver feed to a herd with stags, try and leave it near the fence," he said.
A Health and Safety Authority spokesman said that the Clare death was being investigated. The fatality brought to 23 the number of deaths so far on farms this year. Last year there were 15 deaths and 12 the previous year.
There are 600 deer farms in the Republic.
Some years ago an elderly man was gored to death in Northern Ireland by a stag at this time of the year.