A WAR is being waged against hunters after a dozen deer were illegally slaughtered in the Carlow region.
Over the past three weeks, seven men have been arrested for the vicious killing of the animals, all done under the cover of darkness.
The men from Carlow, Tullow and Rathvilly were caught red-handed stalking land around Hacketstown and Baltinglass, with freshly-shot or disembowelled deer in the back of their vans.
Speaking to The Nationalist, Insp Martin Walker described the hunters as, “greedy, unscrupulous, quasi deer stalkers, who are doing this for fi scal rewards.”
He added that shooting the deer at night was entirely illegal and amounted to cruelty to animals.
“This is not in keeping with the wildlife act and gardaí have now mounted checkpoints, there will be intensive patrolling of the area and these people will be brought before the courts.”
The first arrests were made two weeks ago outside Hacketstown when gardaí were forced into chasing three local men two from Tullow and one from Carlow town.
The culprits were initially discovered in a van with no lights on, having been tracked by gardaí.
After a chase, gardaí discovered a rifle in the back of their vehicle, along with a high-powered torch and the carcasses of three freshly shot deer.
A similar incident unfolded in Blessington last week when two Dublin men were found with the bodies of two dead deer. However, it was an incident in Baltinglass last Wednesday morning that has shocked gardaí most.
Two men from Rathvilly were arrested at 3.30am when gardaí stopped a van. They discovered a rifle and the slaughtered carcasses of eight deer. Among the eight were five stags, two hinds and one calf.
Two of the animals had already been disembowelled while the others were freshly shot.
It is believed the animals are being illegally stalked at night because venison is currently in demand.
It is understood the carcasses are being sold to licensed wildlife dealers who gardaí say are “making the obvious assumption they are being shot legitimately.”