Part 1. Feral deer in Tasmania Tasmania: A place of outstanding values
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asmania is a remarkable landscape of unique and outstanding natural and cultural values along with highly valued agriculture. There are six world heritage sites, highlighted by the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA) that covers 27% of the state. These areas of outstanding biodiversity and Aboriginal cultural values are recognised globally and the international nature-based tourism trade is a cornerstone of Tasmania’s economy. Being an island, Tasmania has been fortunate in having few feral pests compared to mainland Australia and this is to be valued and defended. For Tasmanian Aborigines, a healthy environment is crucial to the health of the cultural landscape of Tasmania.
Feral deer: A threat to this special place Population and distribution; growing rapidly Fallow deer were introduced in to Tasmania from England in 1836 to provide a hunting resource. For the next 150 years or so, the Tasmanian population of fallow deer remained low, within about 60km of the initial release regions in the Midlands and eastern regions of Tasmania. Around
Failure to control exploding numbers of feral deer across Tasmania could see them invade the worldrenowned Cradle Mountain – Lake St Clair National Park. Photo: John Sampson
that time there were said to be 600800 fallow deer in the wild (Bentley 1978). The area occupied by deer subsequently grew to what became known as ‘the deer range’ – the area occupied by fallow deer – which centred around the Midlands. By 1972, the population had grown significantly, with an estimated 70008000 feral deer occupying about 400,000 hectares in the central and eastern Midlands (Chapman 1980). This population surge and spread has continued. Since the 1970s the ‘deer range’ has expanded significantly as a consequence of a variety of factors including escapes and releases from deer farms and the natural expansion of the population (DPIPWE 2011). An aerial survey of the Midlands and Highlands areas in 2019 estimated the population in that area then to
be around 54,000, despite the survey being late in the hunting and crop protection culling season, which reportedly removed 30,000 deer that year (Lethbridge et al. 2020). The survey was limited to the “deer range”, suitable for aerial surveillance and excluded other areas where feral deer are known to be present. These factors indicate the total feral deer population in Tasmania during 2019 was likely to be well over that reported from the survey. While the exact numbers today are uncertain, it is clear there are now well over 54,000 feral deer, occupying more than 2 million hectares (27% of Tasmania). Based on climate and habitat suitability modelling, it is predicted that 56% of Tasmania could be inhabited by fallow deer (Cunningham et al. 2021) and based
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