Deer – Friend or Foe?

By Greg Siepen, Kenmore, Qld.

Get up to date with the current situation with deer in Australia, and the realistic options to deal with them.

Recently, I visited two adjoining semi-rural properties on the outskirts of Brisbane. Both owners commented on seeing deer earlier in the morning crossing their properties, but they had opposing views about these creatures. One owner said she loved how the deer emerged from her mist-filled gully, majestically looked at her then walked off unhurriedly into the forest. The other owner detested deer because they had damaged her trees and she felt they were exotic animals suited to another continent. Both views are right of course.

So how do we resolve these views and manage deer populations across our nation?

i ntroduced s P ecies

Deer were introduced into Australia in the 1800s by acclimatisation societies to provide animals that the newly arrived immigrants could relate to and remind them of their homeland. For many years after their release in the 19th century feral deer gradually built up numbers, but were kept at reasonably low levels by predators, such as wild dogs, foxes and feral cats. Due to concentrated efforts to reduce these type of predators feral deer herds and their ranges have gradually expanded. Consequently, they have reached a tipping point where they are now significantly affecting primary production and the environment.

The following page is a summary of the status of feral deer in each state/territory and how you can prevent and manage deer impacts on your properties.

In summary, each state has a management and/or control plan and strategy with the federal government in the process of designing a national plan. Additionally, in all states and territories, all deer are protected in national parks, as is every other animal. The Parks Service will organise any culling if necessary and penalties apply for any illegal culling or removal by the public.

In terms of feral deer control, all state and territory governments encourage the formation of landholder groups to control feral deer. However, deer are regarded as a hunting resource in Victoria and s tate / t erritory d eer sP ecies Lega L s tudies c ontro L s trategy

Victoria Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

Fallow (Dama dama)

Red (Cervus elaphus)

Hog (Axis porcinus)

Chital (Axis axis)?

South Australia Chital (Axis axis)

Hog (Axis porcinus)

Red (Cervus elaphus)

Rusa (Cervus timorensis)

Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

Fallow (Dama dama)

Tasmania Fallow ( Dama dama )

• Victorian Deer Control Strategy

• Classed as Game (not pest)

• Prevent establishment of Chital, Rusa, Wapiti, Sika deer in wild

• Dept of Env, Lands, Water and Planning

• SA Management Plan

• Declared feral so can be legally controlled and culled under Landscape South Australia Act

YES

• Aligns with invasive plants and animals control policy

• Recreational hunting

• Legal deer controllers

• Regional Deer Control Plans

YES

• Management Plan

• Public and private landholders responsible for culling using national welfare code

• Declared feral pest YES

• Wild Fallow Deer Mgt Plan (2022-27) and Strategy

• Recreational hunting

New South Wales Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

Rusa (Cervus timorensis)

Red (Cervus elaphus)

Fallow (Dama dama)

Chital (Axis axis)

Hog (Axis porcinus)

Queensland Fallow (Dama dama)

Red (Cervus elaphus)

Rusa (Cervus timorensis)

Chital (Axis axis)

• Declared Game Animals

• Declared Pest

• Game Hunting Licence required on public lands

• Biosecurity Act 2014

• Declared pest

• Landholders obligated to control feral Fallow and Red deer when adjacent to protected area (Class 3).

YES

• Deer Management Strategy

• Public and private Landowners required to control feral deer to reduce environmental impacts

YES

• Feral Deer Management Strategy

• Landholders must take reasonable steps to control feral Rusa & Chital deer (Class 2)

Western Australia Fallow (Dama dama)

Red, Wapiti and elk (Cervus elaphus)

Rusa (Cervus timorensis)

Northern Territory Rusa (Cervus timorensis)

Sambar (Cervus unicolor)

• Declared pest

• Biosecurity & Agriculture Management Act (2007)

• Permit required to keep these deer in captivity

• Recreational hunting

• Declared Feral animals YES

• 10 year NRM Plan to reduce the impacts of feral animals

Federal Legislation/Laws

• Draft National Feral Deer Action Plan

• Invasive Species Council

• Draft Strategy (2023)

• Stop spread of feral deer

• Control/eradicate small populations

• Protect significant sites

• Deer farming addressed under Agriculture Acts

NB: Feral deer are those deer living in a wild state and not being farmed or kept for any other purpose. Permission of the landowner is required on public and private lands before hunting can legally be undertaken.

Tasmania, but as pest species elsewhere in Australia.

In the Northern Territory two species of deer occur in the wild (Sambar, Rusa) but other feral animals are regarded as more significant in their impacts on the environment such as water buffalo, pigs, banteng cattle and cane toads.

wH y are Fera L d eer a Pro BL em?

Feral deer listed in the table occur in natural environments, agricultural areas and in and around towns and cities right across Australia. They are hard-hoofed animals that compact the soil and eat native and agricultural plants. They can damage gardens, orchard trees and revegetation plots.

Feral deer compete with livestock and native animals for water and food. They can damage fences, cause vehicle accidents and some are aggressive to people, pets and livestock (in breeding season especially). They can spread weed seeds and make it harder to manage livestock. Feral deer can damage native vegetation through trampling, ring-barking and antler rubbing, and can degrade natural water areas and aquatic plants and animals with faeces and wallowing. In some states deer cause damage to rare and threatened plants and habitats. Feral deer also compete with native fauna for food and habitat.

According to the Queensland Government Factsheet: ‘Feral deer are also susceptible to exotic livestock diseases including footand-mouth disease, rinderpest, vesicular stomatitis, rabies and blue tongue’ as well as being susceptible to cattle tick, leptospirosis and ovine and bovine johne’s disease. So, wild herds of feral deer could play a role in spreading unwanted diseases.

At a federal level, a Senate Committee is investigating whether there should be a national action plan and whether feral deer should be declared a national pest. A draft National Feral Deer Plan is currently being developed involving community feedback, focussing on eradicating small, isolated feral populations; prioritising new control tools; and encouraging coordinated control.

Protecting t rees and your P ro P erty

If deer occur in your area there are a number of actions that you can take to prevent deer damage on your property.

r e P orting d eer a ctivity

Report any sightings to the local council or agriculture department. Assess your boundary fences and keep a look-out for any damage to your trees and vegetation.

Exclusion fencing and removing deer shelter seem to be the most effective methods of preventing damage to your property and vegetation by feral deer.

Fencing t H e P ro P erty

Fencing your entire property to exclude deer is a very worthwhile ideal, but fences will need to be around 1.9 to 2.5m high (deer can jump over smaller fences) with strong posts. These fences need to have the mesh taut and pegged into the ground and sometimes an overhang at the top.

According to The Deer Farming Handbook , sheep and cattle fences can be upgraded by adding four or five electrified wires to a height of 2m or the original wire is removed, star-droppers fixed to existing posts and deer netting attached to the new posts. Local deer farm owners can give costs associated with complete property fencing.

Fencing out deer from parts of your property such as horticultural fields or orchards and timber plantations may be a better targeted measure that will fit into your overall budget.

Protecting individua L trees

Builder’s reinforcing mesh (reo) has been used to protect small orchards and patches of bushland. Electric fencing is suit - able for protecting rehabilitating bushlands. Both need to be about 2m high and solidly attached to strong posts. All fencing should be placed at least 2m from the vegetation to stop deer eating and damaging edge trees and shrubs.

Wrapping tree trunks with wire, nailing hard wooden slats around the trunk and fixing iron sheets around tree bases have also been used to protect trees from deer.

r emoving d eer sH e L ter

Deer often shelter during the day, especially among lantana bushes ( Lantana camara ). Removing this exotic weed will help deter deer from your property. Installing fences or other obstacles around trees and shrubs used by deer as shelter may also deter them.

i m P acts on n ative sP ecies

Feral deer have been reported damaging forests, grasslands and swamplands through grazing of native flora and soil compaction This damage results in changes to vegetation type with negative impacts on native species such as ground-nesting birds.

Surveys have found that in Royal National Park, NSW, 155 species of native plants including trees, shrubs, creepers, ferns, orchids and sedges are grazed by Rusa deer. As a result two endangered and nine vulnerable plant species are under threat in the park. Feral deer can also outcompete wallabies in terms of grazing impacts; in terms of grazing impact, one Rusa is equivalent to about four wallabies.

d eterring d eer!

Evidence suggests that frightening devices such as gas-propelled explosives and strobe lights are ineffective at deterring deer and can greatly disturb neighbours. Likewise, odour-based chemical repellents are ineffective over large areas and need respraying after rain.

m et H ods o F c ontro L

Many methods of controlling and culling feral deer have been attempted, but few are economically feasible to private landholders.

sH ooting

Shooting must be carried out by trained personnel with appropriate firearms licences with permission of private or public landholders. It is best done as a joint district exercise with landholders and relevant local/ state government departments.

Ground shooting is very labour-intensive and is not very effective when there are large numbers of deer. Shooting from a helicopter is occasionally undertaken in inaccessible areas by government approved people and is quite successful when used with high quality thermal imaging. Drones fitted with thermal imaging devices can locate herds of feral deer which can be targeted by aerial or ground shooters.

t ra PP ing

Deer traps can be effective where deer regularly visit sites. Usually, traps are left open for days or weeks to habituate the feral deer before the trap door mechanism is set. Trap doors can be activated by phones or trip wires, or the entrance can be a one-way earthen ramp. Shade, water and food need to be provided for humane purposes. Also, trapped deer need to be removed humanely. A new system is being developed to attract deer to a site so they can be trapped or culled. It’s called the Aggregator and enables deer to access feed while excluding access by native animals, such as kangaroos and possums.

o t H er m et H ods?

Guard dogs with electronic collars have been used in small, contained areas, but this method is expensive. Fertility control using darts is costly and requires expert shooters with only a slow decrease in the population over time. Deerspecific contraceptives in targeted water resources (eg troughs) could be investigated. Poisons are not used due to their potential to affect many other species. In addition, using poisons and contraceptives presents extreme risks to domestic ungulates.

Overall, feral deer numbers are gradually increasing. In some areas they cause a great deal of damage to the natural environment and to agriculture. Even with a national deer management plan individual property owners will still need to protect their property with suitable fences and perhaps participate in district feral deer control programs.

National Plan, website: federaldeerplan.org.au/the-plan.

The Deer Farming Handbook, Chris Tuckwell, RIRDC Publication No. 03/029, website: /www.deerfarming. com.au/deer-farming-handbook. T