A mass grave containing the carcasses of hundreds of wild deer in the Phoenix Park has been closed, and the Office of Public Works has announced that it will no longer bury animals at the site.
A spokeswoman for the OPW said yesterday that the mass grave was now closed, and no deer had been buried there since the publication of the Irish Mirror’s report in February. Research has shown that leachates from mass carcass burial sites can have a negative effect on groundwater quality, leaking chemical contaminants, greenhouse gases, and microorganisms such as E. coli and cryptosporidium.
A deer that died in May was found with “swelling” and an “infected jaw”, and another was described as “a very sick doe” that was blind and had “swelling to head and face”.