Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer just might survive a year in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, since his nose might act as a warning to motorists using the roads there.
Luckily for him, he spends the non-working part of his year in the North Pole and not in the park, where, on average, two deer are killed every week by speeding motorists.
Late this autumn the park authorities decided that the size of the deer herd there should be reduced in order to minimise the deaths on the roads and to keep the herd healthy.
The decision, which resulted in the culling of 100 of the 650 herd at the park, has helped reduce the number of accidents, according to the park superintendent, Mr John McCullen.
"The greatest number of fatalities happen from October onwards and we have lost about 100 animals each year in road traffic accidents," he said. "The main problem is with motorists speeding through the park and not sticking to the speed limits. If they drove under 30 m.p.h., there would be fewer casualties."
He said: "There is terrible trauma involved in these accidents, not only for the motorists but for the animals as well, some of whom get maimed when they are not killed outright."
Mr McCullen said that the deer had been placed in the park in the 1680s and this meant that the fallow deer there were among the oldest deer herds in Europe.
"They are also the healthiest, because they are being studied on an ongoing basis by Dr Tom Hayden, who has carried out extensive research into them," he said.
"They are clear of most diseases and they have a particularly interesting genetic pool, which is the subject of much study both here and abroad," he said.
Mr McCullen said the number of road traffic accidents involving the deer would continue to be monitored. However, he and his staff expect the herd size to increase by about 100 animals, as it does annually.