The unpublished report card by the National Vertebrate Pest Coordinators found that almost every Australian jurisdiction is failing to contain invasive deer populations. New South Wales and Tasmania received failing red marks across every single evaluated metric, while Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory also struggled. In contrast, South Australia achieved passing marks in all categories by launching a targeted statewide eradication initiative in 2022. Experts emphasize that long-term funding is necessary to flush remaining herds from urban fringes before regional agricultural damages reach hundreds of millions of dollars.
Key points
Chronic government underfunding has allowed six invasive deer species to expand their pop…: Chronic government underfunding has allowed six invasive deer species to expand their population and territory across southeastern Australia.
South Australia demonstrated that dedicated eradication funding can successfully decrease…: South Australia demonstrated that dedicated eradication funding can successfully decrease pest deer abundance and their overall environmental impacts.
Experts estimate an additional $10 million is needed in South Australia to stop agricultu…: Experts estimate an additional $10 million is needed in South Australia to stop agricultural damages from climbing to $241 million by 2031.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
An unpublished government report on feral deer shows Australia is failing in its efforts to stop the spread of what one advocate warns could become “Australia’s next feral pig”.
The five years from 2020-2025 over which the national feral deer action plan was assessed covers a period in which the famously elusive species has increasingly encroached upon major cities, leading to more frequent encounters – including a memorable occasion in which two men in various degrees of undress were fined after becoming lost in the bush when they were spooked by deer while nude sunbathing.
The report says deer, one of the country’s “most rapidly increasing invasive pests”, have both increased in numbers and spread in territory, costing more than $91m in production loss and management time every year.
Deakin University’s Prof Euan Ritchie, president of the Australian Mammal Society, said he was “not at all” surprised by this year’s national vertebrate pest management report card.
“This report shows that governments are failing miserably to invest enough to control deer populations and the severe impacts that they can have on…
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