Shooters part of Nillumbik Council plan to cull wild deer population

Wild deer are wreaking havoc on properties from Kinglake to the Yarra River. But one fed-up council has announced a radical plan to fix the problem.

Nillumbik Council is seeking professional shooters to participate in a deer culling project in the Sugarloaf Reservoir area.

Professional shooters are being sought by Nillumbik Council in a desperate attempt to cull the city’s “out-of-control” feral deer population.

It comes after the Leader revealed in March herds of Nillumbik’s “number one pest” were stampeding through properties, knocking down fences, destroying gardens and causing car crashes — and the problem was rife from Kinglake to the Yarra River.

The fringe council is now seeking to appoint three professional hunters to participate in a mass deer culling project across private land surrounding the Sugarloaf Reservoir — the 4ha area would encompass Bend of Islands, Watsons Creek and Christmas Hills.

Nillumbik mayor Karen Egan said the $180,000 Sugarloaf Link Deer Control Project

would be a funded program under the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

She also said the project, which would run from July this year until June 2021, was a plan to reduce deer numbers and analyse the best way to manage the feral animals.

“This will allow us to see how best we can manage deer, how viable shooting is and will give us some idea of deer numbers,” Cr Egan said.

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Australian Deer Association executive officer Barry Howlett said shooting alone would not curb deer numbers.

“It is merely a tool in the tool kit — if the focus is on numbers then that’s going to fail, the focus should be on the impacts of deer,” he said.

“Deer have been around in the Diamond Valley for at least 150 years and you will never get rid of them but it’s about reducing density at the points where they are breeding.”

The feral deer problem is getting worse, locals say.

Cr Egan said councils would be forced to take action until deer were officially classified as a pest in Victoria.

“They are our number one pest and are just getting out-of-control — they strip bark and kill trees, jump out onto roads and destroy properties in agricultural areas right through to residential properties in areas like Manningham,” she said.

Cr Egan told the Leader in March her eldest daughter was lucky to be alive after smashing into a deer near Eltham College.

The 32-year-old’s car spun 180 degrees and narrowly missed an oncoming truck in the nasty incident three months ago.

Cr Egan also hit a deer while driving along Smiths Gully Rd about 18 months ago.

“Hitting one is like hitting a bull,” she said.

“There was a death in New South Wales and it’s only a matter of time before there is one here.

“The way they breed enables their population to double every two years and it’s currently out-of-control.”

Fred Bauer has had his Eltham garden destroyed by feral deer. Picture: Norm Oorloff

A Ringwood motorist also had a brush with death after a spooked deer jumped onto the roof of his car and smashed the windshield in Park Orchids in December last year.

While Eltham homeowner Fred Bauer told the Leader wild deer were knocking his fences down and destroying plants.

Herds of Sambar and Red deer were common in Yarra Valley, while Fallow deer would frequently be seen in the Dandenong Ranges.

Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio said a deer management strategy was currently being developed and a final strategy would be released later this year.

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