Guide to Deer Control in Peri-urban Areas

Noise impacts from the use of firearms

• Suppressors can be used to reduce the sound volume.
• Have a communication plan in place to advise the community on upcoming control work and inform people about what to expect during a shooting program.
• Notify relevant stakeholders and neighbours of works in advance.

Populous places

• Higher densities of people and housing reduce the number of suitable locations for shooting deer.
• Check with the local District Firearms Officer to determine requirements for Public Place Permits.
• Use professional contractors with permits to undertake works in highly populated peri-urban areas.
• Consider control in larger areas nearby rather than in populous areas – a reduction in deer in surrounding areas will have flow-on benefits, can be undertaken more safely and is generally more cost-effective.
• Engaging a professional deer controller can be a barrier to participation in control works because of the costs involved.

Small property sizes

• Consider control in larger properties nearby, which will benefit landholders on smaller landholdings and can be done more safely and effectively.
• Collaboration is key, with landscape-scale work essential to contributing to the reduction of deer in the peri-urban environment. Where properties are small, it is recommended that landholders team up with neighbours to create larger control areas. This is likely to increase effectiveness.
• Local councils may help facilitate collaboration between property owners.
• Deer are not confined to public land, and there will be improved outcomes from work across land tenures.

Disposal of deer carcasses is more difficult.

• Some properties may be unsuitable for the burial of deer or too small to leave carcasses in situ without upsetting neighbours because of the smell or sight.
• An increasing number of professional deer controllers are also licensed harvesters, allowing removal and commercial processing of wild-shot deer for human consumption or pet food through PrimeSafe licensed game meat processing facilities.
• There can be productivity benefits from ‘dropping and leaving’ deer carcasses, and this could be considered in areas where decomposing animals will not cause complaints or water quality concerns.

Unable to do ground-based shooting at sites

• This may be because of accessibility issues or community moral objections to the euthanasia of wildlife. But other management options may be considered.
• Removal or thinning of weedy deer harbour (particularly blackberries) may reduce deer numbers by limiting options for deer to bed and breed.

• Limiting access to natural and artificial water sources may encourage deer to move on.
• Note that these methods do not reduce deer numbers but move the problem to another area. This can still be beneficial if it moves deer away from assets that need protection.
• Some use of noise deterrents can make it uncomfortable for deer to remain in an area. This is best used directly following an adjacent deer control so that the deer associate the loud noises with shooting.

Fragmented properties and discontinuous areas of control can lead to re-invasion from non-control sites

• Use the prioritisation matrix to assess proposed control sites to ensure that work is performed in priority areas.
• Council environment officers, public land managers, Landcare or other environmental groups can advise on current local deer control activities that a landholder can join.
• Deer control work at appropriate landscape scales will provide more effective localised reductions in deer abundance, with ongoing control preventing re-colonisation of deer back into the area.
• Report deer sightings and damage through the Victorian Biodiversity Atlas, Atlas of Living Australia or FeralScan to contribute to deer knowledge datasets.
• Ensure works are undertaken at a landscape scale where practical, across land tenure boundaries.

The use of recreational hunters in public land areas is limited unless authorised by the land manager (Game Management Authority map of deer hunting areas)

• Recreational hunting cannot play a significant role in managing deer populations in peri-urban areas.
• Hunters can provide volunteer deer control for landholders under the Governor-in-Council (GIC) Order that unprotects deer as wildlife on private land.
• Under the GIC Order, spotlights and other tools can be used and control can occur at night.
• The requirement for Public Place Permits needs to be considered by recreational/volunteer shooters.
• An increase in shooting in the areas set aside for recreational hunting will benefit peri-urban areas where control is more complex and restricted.

Highly fragmented natural environments with mosaics of different vegetation types

• Fragmented landscapes can make it hard to select appropriate control sites.
• Small patches of bushland appear to carry high densities of deer, possibly because water and feed is abundant nearby, but research and monitoring is needed to determine the impact and carrying capacity of the local vegetation communities.
• Consider fencing off small areas of critical biodiversity assets to provide seasonal or permanent protection from deer and other herbivores.
• Private landholders should consult their council’s Planning team to check if their local planning scheme requires permits for fences or restricts the types of fences that can be used.

Lack of community awareness - Limited knowledge of deer, and signs of their presence, impacts and options for control and management

• Education and communication are key to successful community engagement.
• Information and education will help landholders understand the complexity of deer in the landscape – how they came to be here, and the habitat requirements for deer.
• Letter drops, media and demonstration sites, and field days will increase knowledge and ownership of managing deer impacts.

Knowledge gaps on deer distribution and impacts in peri-urban areas.

• An integrated cross-tenure monitoring program is required across the peri-urban area to improve knowledge of deer distribution, abundance, and impacts.