PARK WATCH Article December 2024 |

Deer are not and never will be wildlife in Australia says Jordan Crook, Parks and Nature Campaigner

Not a week goes by that I don’t dodge a deer on the road, get honked at in the bush or witness the growing mess feral deer are making of our parks and reserves. Trees ringbarked, rainforest valleys decimated, revegetation projects smashed, alpine bogs and fens rutted up.    

The obsession with protecting feral deer by a small but vocal group of hobby shooters is only making things worse. Deer are chomping and stomping through Victoria’s unique wildlife habitats and threatening agricultural production. More frequent collisions with cars and trucks on our roads is a risk to human safety.

The legislative relic that protects feral deer under state legislation the Wildlife Act, harks back to the days of the Acclimatisation Societies of the 1800s. It must go.

This stubborn fixation on listing them as a game species put an extra burden on public and private land holders. It muddies the water for authorities seeking to eradicate feral deer and rules out control techniques like trapping and biocontrol.

In September, a group of over 100 academics, land managers, farmers, and national, state and regional community conservation groups wrote to the Victoria’s Agriculture and Environment ministers demanding proactive solutions to the burgeoning feral deer population. They reiterated the importance of listing them as a pest species.

Every signatory had an example; whether damage to ecological restoration projects, impact on farm animals who compete for feed, to cars written off after on-road deer strikes.

The current policy settings are placing speed humps and brick walls to effective deer removal and control. It’s time to manage them as the pest they are. Their hooves and antlers wreck orchards, farms and vineyards. Feral deer spread disease to waterways and livestock, damage property, cause vehicle collisions, and damage national parks and gardens. They ruin sensitive and recovering habitats like Endangered Cool Temperate Rainforest and alpine meadows.

Our elected representatives need to seriously look at the science and the devastating effects on nature, community and livelihoods. Add your voice and tell them to finally list feral deer as the pest they are.