Deer are
among the world’s most successful invasive species and can have substantial
negative impacts on natural and agricultural ecosystems. They are considered
one of Australia’s worst emerging pest animal problems.
Six
species have established wild populations in Australia: the fallow, chital,
red, rusa, sambar and hog deer. Numbers of all six are increasing, with populations
expanding into new areas.
Most
wild deer are currently in south-east Australia, which is where accidental and
deliberate releases have occurred in the past. A recent study based on
bioclimatic analysis, however, has suggested that most of the species already
present in Australia are well-suited to the tropical and subtropical climates
of northern Australia. Thus, they could potentially occupy most of the
continent, including parts of the arid interior.
In
Australia, deer are classified differently, depending on which state they are
found. In Queensland, the Northern Territory, South Australia and Western
Australia they are classified as a pest species.
But the
south-eastern states have not. NSW has listed the damage caused by deer as a
key threatening process. Yet under current laws in this state, deer are also protected
as a hunting resource. NSW is not alone. Tasmania lists them as partly
protected wildlife, and in Victoria they are essentially treated as a protected
game species for recreational hunters despite also being listed as a key threat
under Victorian threatened species legislation.
In March
2016, an independent review by the Natural Resources Commission recommended NSW
make deer a pest species. Such a move was not supported by the NSW Government,
who are obviously too worried about the political repercussions from denying
deer hunters their sport.
Making
feral deer a pest species would give land managers and governments the power to
tackle this growing environmental and agricultural threat head on, rather than
being constrained by current laws that protect feral deer. We also need to prevent
further deer farm escapes and the deliberate ‘seeding’ of new areas by hunters.
Because,
to address this pest we need concerted efforts to prevent new populations; to eradicate
small, isolated populations; and to contain other wild populations.
-
Janet Cavanaugh
This article was originally published in the VOICES FOR THE EARTH column in The Daily Examiner on September 4, 2017.
