A study shows that visitors who feed the deer at Dublin’s Phoenix Park have a major negative impact on the wild herd. Laura Griffin, who leads the project, saw firsthand what harmful foods the deer are fed. She recorded these interactions for the past four summers. The observation fieldwork is part of her doctoral thesis with the Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behavior at UCD and is funded by the Office of Public Works (OPW). Laura Griffin examines the interactions between visitors and deer in Phoenix Park. She said, “We saw them being fed chocolate, cookies, chips and popcorn. Even sandwiches with ham and chicken in them were fed to the deer. 100% – should not be fed. ”Many people who come to the park think that they are doing something good for the deer. You love the deer. You could bring carrots, apples, and oats. They think this is part of the deer’s natural diet, but it is not, especially not in the amounts they get. ”Feeding the deer in Phoenix Park is prohibited by the OPW. The pandemic has resulted in an increase in the number of visitors to the park and interaction with the deer. Laura said deer health and welfare are diverse. There are approximately 600 fallow deer in Phoenix Park in Dublin. She said, “There are physiological effects like the deer that are fed by humans produce smaller antler sizes after their antlers stop growing.” The effects during the rut could be enormous as they use their antlers for sexual competition. So when they fight. If your antlers are smaller, you are more likely to lose, which means you have fewer opportunities to mate. They “you even discriminate against them.” Deer are ruminants. They are like cattle. You have a four-chambered stomach. They have to sit and ruminate or digest to get all the nutrients out of their food. In fact, we found that the deer who eat food from humans have altered the internal structure of their gastrointestinal tract. “We also found with the female herd that people who approach them to feed are too stressful. Especially at this time of the year when the fawns come out to join the herd for the first time.” Amy Haigh said taking a social media selfie will encourage people to get closer to the deer fieldwork. She said, “I think social media has a huge impact on that. When we see pictures of people incredibly close to the deer and we think, ‘Oh, that would be a great photo for my Facebook profile.’ And then think I, when you get people that close, people think, ‘Can I just get that step closer?’ “OPW guidelines state that you should stay 50 meters from the deer in Phoenix Park. ‘Selfies’ are not allowed. Laura Griffin said if you “let the deer be stag” you can have a much more enriching viewing experience. She said, “If you just keep a safe distance – we recommend 50 meters – if you keep that distance and watch the deer, you will see some incredible natural behaviors year round you can see the fawns outside. You can see them play, suckle their mothers. The deer meet and groom each other. “Keep the wildlife wild. Admire it from a distance and let the deer be deer”.
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