By Mitchell Clarke
The State Government’s contentious new deer control strategy has been criticised by the Cardinia Deer Management Coalition (CDMC), who say the new measures fail to address five key areas.
The Victorian Deer Control Strategy, which was released on Friday 30 October, is being kick-started with a $1 million boost to “manage” the growing problem of deer across Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
“We’re taking action to control Victoria’s feral deer population and reduce the significant impacts they have on our native wildlife and biodiversity,” Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said.
“This strategy will address feral deer numbers in the outer suburbs of Melbourne to not only protect our environment but to increase public safety.”
It sets out a long term coordinated plan to control wild deer numbers and reduce the threat they pose to the environment, but critics argue it fails to recognise the severity of the problem.
CDMC president Mike Hall said the group was “very disappointed” that the new strategy failed to urgently address the exponential growth in the feral deer population.
They wanted the State Government to list deer as a pest species, set a time frame for action, guarantee project funding, set interim targets and undertake research into the economic and environmental damage caused by deer.
It’s now been two years since the draft deer strategy was released. Mr Hall described that delay as a “slap in the face” to all the groups who contributed to the original draft.
“We were all hoping the delay in the release of the strategy meant our serious concerns about the short-comings of the draft strategy were being addressed,” he said.
“These hopes have been dashed, as the final strategy differs little from the original and these two years have effectively been wasted.
“Despite the strategy document acknowledging the seriousness of the deer invasion, there is no urgency in the government’s response.”
The CDMC’s concerns have been echoed by the Invasive Species Council and the Victorian National Parks Association.
Victorian National Parks Association’s spokesperson Phil Ingamells said the strategy should be aimed at reducing deer numbers across the state.
“It is good that public land managers will no longer have to apply for specific permission under the Wildlife Act to control them but, bizarrely, deer will remain a protected species under that same Act,” he said.
Mr Ingamells said the $1 million promise to control deer in the urban fringe was a “useful start” but added there was no guarantee any broad landscape control program would continue into the future.
“There will need to be a huge increase in resources if the plan will have any chance of reducing the deer menace,” he said.
“We need real action now, not another two years of indecision.”
