The impact of increasing feral deer populations has put control of numbers in the spotlight.
Parks Victoria will, this week, begin its night deer control program in Macedon Regional Park with licensed and professional shooting contractors.
Deer are an introduced species and Parks Victoria recognises they “pose significant risks to native biodiversity, water quality, public safety, agricultural assets, and Aboriginal cultural and heritage values”.
“Shooting by professional contractors is the most effective and humane technique to control deer,” they state.
Contractors will conduct ground shooting at Macedon Regional Park in the evenings, between 5pm and 5am on October 15-16, October 20-21, and November 11. Immediate shooting operation areas will be closed to the public at this time.
The program is part of the Victorian Government’s deer control strategy, in response to rapidly increasing deer numbers across the state.
FERAL DEER INCREASING
Rebecca Stockfeld, director of planning and environment with Macedon Ranges Shire Council, said that anecdotally deer numbers appeared to have increased in the shire in recent years.
“Particularly in the southern parts of the shire and on Mount Macedon,” she said.
“Council anticipates this will become a growing issue as deer populations spread into conservation areas, forests and along waterways.”
Residents in the Macedon Ranges, Mount Alexander and surrounds have reported increased deer sightings and damage on private properties.
Pipers Creek-based deer hunter Isaiah Raffoul told the Express he had heard from several farmers in the region, seeking assistance to control numbers.
“Farmers are having issues with deer destroying their crops, orchards, vineyards, gardens, and interfering with livestock feed,” he said.
“In the past three years, people I have heard from said they have noticed numbers of deer increasing on their properties.”
Mr Raffoul began assisting farmers and property owners in Macedon Ranges with private ethical and humane removal of deer about two years ago.
He does not charge a fee and deer are harvested for meat, for personal consumption only. He acknowledged there were some hunters or poachers, mostly from outside of the region, not taking an ethical and humane approach, and encouraged property owners seeking assistance with deer to consider their options carefully.
FUTURE CHANGES?
While the state recognises deer hunting by licenced professionals as the most humane way to reduce feral deer, at present, wildlife advocates suggest changes could be possible in the future.
Mount Alexander Wildlife Watch secretary, Dr Mindy Macleod, said international methods for pest population control were promising.
“Overseas, deer populations are managed via birth control hormones darted into the animal. A drug is used in Canada where they say a single dose can last for six years,” she said.
“It’s a relatively new concept and one thing being trialled is how to know which animal has been darted — potentially with permanent ink that marks on impact.
“This solution doesn’t involve high-powered rifles in our forests or regional areas, eliminates the risk of miss-shots or striking non-target animals or agonising cruel injuries.”
PROJECT PLANNING
For now, Ms Stockfeld said Macedon Ranges Shire Council was addressing deer impacts through project planning but it increases costs.
The council recently received funding under the federal government’s Urban Rivers and Catchments Program, which includes revegetation works at Gisborne’s Djirri Djirri reserve — a site with a significant deer population.
“Deer control measures, exclusion fencing and robust tree guards have been incorporated into the project to protect new plantings, substantially increasing overall project costs,” she said.
