Published Thursday, 29 October 2009
The claim from the Countryside Alliance comes as two deer heads and carcasses were seized by police in Irvinestown as part of an enquiry into allegations of illegal hunting and reports that two red deer hinds had been shot in the close season.
Chief Inspector Graham Dodds, the area commander, said: "Deer poaching tends to increase at this time of year, peaking in the weeks before Christmas.
"While hundreds of deer are lawfully and professionally culled by trained deer stalkers each year, many more are cruelly killed by poachers looking to sell the meat on the black market."
Police are keen to crackdown on poachers as they often target deer indiscriminately and have no respect for females with dependant or suckling young.
Chief Inspector Dodds added: "This operation is not only about tackling deer poaching but about reassuring the rural communities and farms in the rural Fermanagh area that police in Fermanagh are tackling these issues."
One man has been reported to the PPS.