Victorian Deer Control Strategy

Regional Deer Control Plans will set priority locations for deer control or other management measures. This will address the damage deer cause in a defined part of the state.

The Victorian Government will develop these plans with:

• Traditional Owners
• local councils
• the community

The Strategy does not propose to declare all deer species as pest animals

Established species of deer (Sambar, Fallow, Red and Hog) will remain classified as game under the Wildlife Act 1975.

But that doesn’t mean they cannot be controlled if they are causing damage.

This is consistent with the draft Deer Management Strategy

These four deer species are already established in the wild in Victoria

They cannot be eradicated using current control methods

Chital, Rusa, Wapiti and Sika are the deer species not present or established in the wild in Victoria

The Strategy proposes to review their classification and investigate their transition to pest animals under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994.

Feedback on the draft Strategy showed growing community concern about the impacts of deer.

More emphasis on managing these impacts and less on deer as a hunting resource was the most common objective the public wanted.

The Game Management Authority and Victoria Police are addressing Issues with illegal hunting.

The Victorian Government will continue promoting legal and responsible hunting.

The Victorian Government announced in the 2020-21 State Budget an $18.25 million investment over 4 years and $4.4 million per year ongoing on deer control.

This funding will be used to develop and deliver Regional Deer Control Plans under the Victorian Deer Control Strategy.

This will reduce the impacts of wild deer and create jobs across Victoria for deer controllers and associated roles.

Under the Strategy, there will be a review of existing regulations that apply to keeping and farming deer in Victoria.

This will consider how well the risk of deer escaping from farms and establishing in the wild is being managed.

Some deer species that are farmed or kept as pets are not established in the wild in Victoria but are in other states.  This includes Sika, Rusa, Chital, Wapiti deer and their hybrids.

The current game classification of these species will be reviewed under the Strategy. This will determine if they are likely to establish populations in the wild and what impact that could have on the environment and other values.

As a result of these reviews, one or more of these species may be declared pest animals under the Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994. It would mean that farming or keeping these animals may require a permit in future or may be prohibited.

We will consult affected groups before any changes are made to deer farming regulations. We will consider impacts on these sectors as part of the review.