Deer cull: Parks Victoria engages shooters to kill deer at Haining Farm
These highly skilled shooters aren’t stalking the enemy in a foreign land. They’re in the Yarra Valley and their target doesn’t know they’re coming.
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Highly skilled professional shooters are targeting deer in the Yarra Valley in a bid to protect native animals.
In a public notice, Parks Victoria said it was conducting the controlled, safe and humane deer control program, targeting fallow and samba deer on public land, within Haining Farm.
The program began this week and will continue periodically until the end of the year.
It aims to remove deer from critical conservation areas at the farm.
Signs will be displayed at all official entrance points to the site throughout the control program.
Lilydale & Yarra Valley Leader previously reported on the plan to turn Haining Farm into a sanctuary for threatened species.
The controversial plan to revegetate the farm and make it part of the Yellingbo Conservation Area started in 2018.
A Parks Victoria spokesman said it was working to protect the endangered helmeted honeyeater and lowland leadbeater’s possum at the farm as deer had accessed a revegetation area which was protecting the native species.
He said deer were trampling and destroying native plants, increasing grazing pressure and ringbarking young trees.
Deer also foul waterholes, cause soil erosion and help the spread of weeds.
The spokesman said Parks Victoria was using professional shooters to undertake the operation, which was being carried out under strict conditions designed to ensure safe, effective and humane practices at all times while observing physical distancing measures.
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Parks Victoria has previously run a similar shooting program at several sites in the Yarra Ranges.
It is running a professional contract program in Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve to help control the feral deer population.
Since mid March almost 90 deer have been culled.