Wild deer in Phoenix Park, Dublin in August 2015
Stop that!
While walking in the wonderful Phoenix Park recently, I passed a man with a bag of carrots who was obviously intending to feed the nearby herd of wild deer.
I pointed out that feeding the deer was clearly prohibited and not in the interests of the herd and was met with a volley of abuse and told in no uncertain terms to mind my own business – despite the presence of the man’s two children.
Clearly some people enjoy interacting with animals and blind themselves to the consequences of their actions, particularly when it comes to handsome animals such as deer. However, throughout the city I have seen people deliberately feeding seagulls on the quays, pigeons in train stations and grey squirrels in the park.
Can I reassure your readers that these wild animals will not die a painful death without ostensibly well-intentioned interventions and that in fact it is better to leave well enough alone. In fact, those who truly care about nature should keep an appropriate distance from wild animals and encourage others to do the same…
Paul Kean,
Dublin 8.
Henry writes:
I thought this was a good, non vested-interest letter. I see this myself and it drives me crazy. Feeding seagulls is particularly silly…
Sam Boal/Rollingnews
If i was feeding deer with my two kids and someone intervened Id tell them in no uncertain trms to do one aswell
stupid and proud, well done you.
Unusual kids names to be fair.
Bravo!
Bertie, you are on fire at the moment
So you’re an ignorant selfish scumbag then. The scourge of a civilised society.
You can’t prevent idiots.
I occasionally throw custard creams at the country people queuing for buses along the quays, sometimes even fig rolls.
Was that you?
I always thought you were a mane oul’ sh1te
‘Not stretching to a Chocolate Goldgrain
I’m roaring laughing :)
Thanks
Carrots?! That was a good day for the deer so. I’ve seen tourists feeding them with tubes of Pringles & bags of luminous orange, cheesy-puff type snacks : (
Feeding seagulls is awesome. Not that they all require help… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSRWMq_MoJA
End justifies the means in some cases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-6l-905zD0
I was feeding my children to the deer and some nosey parker came over and told me that they are not actually carnivores.
BTW there is no such animal as the seagull, they are simply gulls, most likely herring.
If you happen to be a bird then yea they’ll probably be content to eat them
Seriously there’s loads of videos of it on YouTube, I think Bambii was just to lull us into a false sense of security!
this guy is right. There are clear signs in Pheonix Park saying not to go within 50 meters of the deer. I see people not respecting this request every time I am at the park, and the deer dont always look too happy about it. Some idiot is going to get themselves or their kids hurt.
Let’s hope so.
indeed
Hopefully someone films it and then we can all have a laugh
Like ‘Fenton’ all over again, only Anto this time around
Fenton, that classic chestnut!
Yes definitely Phoenix Park version of this although, vice verse with pack of skobies being chased by rutting deer.
Perhaps the sign should explain why it is not ok to feed them? Then parents can walk their children to the sign and also explain why not?
I think it does. It also mentions that they can be aggressive during mating season.
The sign is actually an interesting read.
It is a major problem these days. One guy started it, I noticed him last year, and it has made the deer tame so more likely to take the carrots from others who try, and now it has ballooned. People aren’t considering the fact that they aren’t the only ones who feed these animals let alone that they can and should find their own food, people see them as their rightful entertainment, for them and their kids, and so get well poo-ey when confronted about it. We also seem to majorly resent any kind of rules in this country even when it is the right and common sense thing to do and as nothing is ever enforced we keep getting to have a totally immature reaction when anyone calls us on anything.
We need more laws that we can enforce arbitrarily against people we don’t like instead of enforcing the existing ones!
Agree completely with this.
Shouldn’t stop yiz callin’ ’em out.
I’m gonna get a megaphone and hide among the deer and then turn it all the way up to eleven, and scream “Oi, YOU! Yeah you with the funking carrot! Stop that, thanks”. Now, see.
Eventually the deer will take to you as one of there own.
FINTON!
JESUS CHRIST
I tried to feed carrots the deer in the park a good few years ago.
The one I tried to feed didn’t seem to be able to chew the carrot and practically choked attempting to swallow it whole.
Never tried again.
Still puzzled how Rudolph obviously has no problem demolishing any carrots left out for him at our house Christmas eve.
… and practically choked attempting to swallow it whole.
That reminds me how’s the wife?
Rudolf is a reindeer though, where as the ones in the park are just regular deer. Reindeer are well known for having some serious knashers on them.
*gnashers
And he’s a working man
With a big job on
So
Ya know
Probably needs more calories
n’ stuff
“The one I tried to feed didn’t seem to be able to chew the carrot and practically choked attempting to swallow it whole.”
That was a rentboy SpecSavers.
People feeding pigeons… whenever I see anyone feeding pigeons, I want to follow them home and shit all over their patio, see how much they like it.
there’s a niche for that
Usually you pay double for that kind of action, Cotton.
Letter reeks of PC photographers leaving kids and animals to die to preserve ” authenticity “.
No. You just need to sit down for a minute and maybe consider why feeding deer is a bad idea considering they are a wild animal, perfectly able to fend for themselves without half a pan of Brennans fed to them by some half witted fool looking for a few minutes entertainment before heading to Liffey Valley to spend the day shopping like a fool.
A massive heard of wild deer that inhabit our largest urban community , Ban people from the Phoeno next
” However, throughout the city I have seen people deliberately feeding seagulls on the quays, pigeons in train stations and grey squirrels in the park.”
The monsters! I have no faith in humanity left at all, may you all die horribly of knob rot
Admirable being cute & fuzzy to de animalz.
But stop fecking feeding them crap…if the sheeple could just cop on with their choice of bad treats ruining the health of natures creatures.
The Park Rangers would have been over in a flash if they were notified and the man warned and cautioned.
Seagulls in Dublin have evolved to ordering a chicken baguette in Spar now.
And sure look what happened the gondolas!
I caught an item this morning on BBCNews24 – it reported that one shouldn’t throw a stick for one’s dog to chase and retrieve (Health and Safety issues). To quote the chef from The Muppets Take Manhattan, “Peoples is peoples!”. Hand-feeding wild-life is absurd, yet people persist. Erecting signs in Phoenix Park, or along The Quays in Dublin is clearly not a deterrent.
Anyone who’s been to Brighton and had lunch on the sea- front will know they were bombarded by gulls the size of albatrosses, stealing food from diners tables. Brighton’s answer – nothing! No-one feeds the gulls anymore. Urban London types were feeding foxes that had wandered, scratching for food from outside the M25, now they’re a scourge. It’s back to the Muppet Movie quote – I’d still throw a stick for a dog – if I had a dog!
Also lets not forget the parents battering the conkers out of the trees in the Phoneix Park every autumn while their spawn stomp their feet.
Again, I defer to The Muppets quote, “Peoples is peoples!”
I was ravaged by a bear in Brighton.
It’s covered in greater detail in Chapter 7 of my autobiography.
Ravaged by a ‘bear’, or a ‘bare’ – in Brighton, the latter sounds more feasible!
I think Fluffy biscuits needs to give you “the talk”.
I appreciate that Bertie – however, I have walked the walk for ‘manys a year’, girlfriend, this crazy mo’fo’ don’t need no “talk”! Sorry, I don’t really do “gangsta” very well – again apologies!
hehe :)
I really liked that inspiring and raw and brutal film they made about your epic struggle to survive and journey to safety, Carry On Bertie.
Is it ok to feed the ducks?
Of course not. http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/16/dont-feed-the-ducks-bread-say-conservationists
The list of things you should not feed animals that people just plain ignore.
You cannot feed
Milk to cats or hedgehogs,
Bread to birds ducks or swans,
Cooked bones especially chicken bones to dogs,
But you should not feed wild animals. It seems alright at the start but when the deer start to expect food from people and wander into where people are to get it. One will become aggressive and then the deer will be a danger to everyone and some will have to be put down.
all because some Jack A wont listen.