Runaway stag shot near Dublin city center

A runaway stag was shot in Dublin city center by a park ranger after it escaped from Phoenix Park on Friday.

The Irish Independent reports that firefighters from Phibsborough responded to a call saying the stag had attempted to jump the park railings but had become impaled, sustaining serious injuries. The firemen attended the scene and freed the animal from the railings but it ran off. 

A few hours later, the stag was found wandering the Dublin Fire Brigade’s garage off North Brunswick Street, almost 1.5km from the nearest entrance to the Phoenix Park.

“We were standing outside chatting in the yard when this deer ran in through the entrance,” said sub-officer David Snee.

“It was running at a canter and was in a very distressed state,” he said, adding that the animal was being pursued by police and park rangers.

Once the deer was inside, security shutters were lowered in the yard to prevent the animal from escaping.

Wildlife officials determined the animal needed to be put down, and it was shot at the garage in Smithfield.

A spokesperson for the Office of Public Works, which is responsible for the Phoenix Park’s 500-strong deer herd, said:

“On humanitarian grounds and with best practice, the deer was put down humanely as the stag was badly injured.”

“It is a very rare occurrence that a deer leaves the Park and in most cases those that do come back in unaided.”