The Invasive Species Council (ISC) has slammed the Tasmanian government’s attitude to deer control.

“Calls to commercialise feral deer meat are not a silver bullet to Tasmania’s feral deer problem and distract from the real issues facing the state caused by increasing and uncontrolled numbers of feral deer,” ISC CEO Andrew Cox said today.

They called on the government to develop a comprehensive feral deer management strategy that reduces the destructive impacts of deer and protects the environment and farmers from the growing impacts of the animal.

“Commercial use of deer will provide an added incentive not to reduce deer numbers,” Cox said. “We saw this when rabbit control was commercialised in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and we are seeing it on the mainland with feral goat control.”

He noted that limited available control options and legislation that protects deer in Tasmania as a resource for hunters is also hampering containment and control.

Deer are probably Australia’s worst emerging pest animal problem, causing damage to the natural environment and agriculture, the ISC claim.

“In Tasmania fallow deer are rapidly spreading with no effective plan,” Cox said.

“A Tasmanian deer management strategy should have clear actions to protect the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area from the growing encroachment of deer into this precious global treasure, accompanied by funding for professional ground and aerial shooters.”

The government says it is delivering on its plan to ‘modernise’ management of Tasmania’s wild fallow deer population. It’s key consultation partner, the Tasmanian Game Council, is however a new organisation set up by the Liberal government just 18 months ago.

Apart from Tasmania Victoria, all Australian jurisdictions manage deer as a pest species, not as a special resource for hunters at the cost of the natural environment and farming.

Such a declaration won’t limit recreational hunting, according to the ISC, but clarify that feral deer need to be managed to limit their impacts.

The ISC called for the full findings of the government’s feral deer census to be released as soon as possible. “We urgently need this data to see where deer are spreading to and where the government needs to focus containment efforts.”

The Greens strongly supported the Invasive Species Council’s position.

“For too long, the shooting industry has literally called the shots and with the support of a game management branch within DPIPWE – that’s far better resourced than the Threatened Species Unit – ensured feral deer numbers continue to climb,” commented Greens Leader and Parks spokesperson Cassy O’Connor.

“If deer become established in fragile protected areas like the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area it will be a disaster,” she said.

She described the favouring of deer hunting as a ‘folly’ at the expense of farming and the environment.

“It’s gone on too long,” she said. “Minister Barnett is responsible for this situation, he needs to act and develop a plan that eradicates feral deer from Tasmania rather than encouraging them to have a permanent, destructive place in this fragile landscape.”

Minister for Primary Industries Guy Barnett said the focus is on achieving the best balance between managing the impacts of wild deer on agricultural production, conservation areas and forestry, and “maintaining deer as a valued recreational hunting resource.”

He said the state-wide census of deer populations was underway and will give up-to-date information on deer numbers and help inform future deer management strategies.

“To ensure the census delivers rigorous, reliable information, the methodology was developed in consultation with the Tasmanian Game Council and relevant stakeholders,” he said.

“Other initiatives already delivered include establishing a new Game Services Tasmania within DPIPWE, removing quotas and tags for antlerless deer, extending the deer hunting season, providing landholders with five-year crop protection permits for antlerless deer, opening up new areas of reserved land for recreational deer hunting and establishing the Tasmanian Game Council.”

The Game Council was set up by then Premier Will Hodgman in 2018.

Impacts of fallow deer on the environment

  • Fallow Deer in Sights of Conservationists, Hunters 1Greening Australia estimates that 30 per cent of its $6 million budget for the Midlands Restoration Program was spent on deer proof fencing, deer damage costs, deer control and mitigation from deer rubbing and ring-barking trees, and deer monitoring.

The federal government has identified that feral deer have major impacts on the natural environment:

  • Destroying native vegetation.
  • Trampling plants, grazing, and ring-barking young trees.
  • Fouling waterholes.
  • Causing soil erosion.
  • Spreading weeds.
  • Increasing potential for transmitting diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease.

Impacts of deer on agriculture

  • Loss of primary production from deer browsing.
  • Damage to infrastructure.
  • Human damage caused by poachers and illegal access.