Commentary on Sections Section 18 - Licences relating to deer
Section 18 is concerned with the management of the wild deer population in Northern Ireland and is intended to mitigate the impacts from deer in certain circumstances by giving the Department broader powers to issue licences to kill, injure or take any (fallow, red or sika) deer during the close season. It will allow licenses to be issued for the purposes of preserving public health or safety, conserving the natural heritage or preventing serious damage to property. Before granting such licences, the Department will be required to be satisfied about a number of matters in order to ensure that that there is no other satisfactory solution and that the reasons for the application for licence are given due consideration. Licences will need to state a number of requirements.
An applicant for a licence is required to have a right of entry onto the land to which the application applies.