Deer sightings surge on Wonga Park roads prompting safety fears
They might be cute and cuddly when young but after deer grow up they can cause havoc on the rural roads and properties. And people in the outer east say the ones running amok in their area are “bull-sized”.
Outer East
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Deer are being seen running rampant across Melbourne’s outer east with reports of the animals damaging fences and roaming busy rural roads.
Wonga Park’s Glenn Bird said he saw a deer which had made its way through a fence while on a walk on Homestead Rd on Tuesday — the first time he had seen a deer in the area in almost 20 years.
Mr Bird said the deer spooked nearby animals and came dangerously close to hitting a moving car when it crossed the road.
“It (the car) had to veer to the right and it just missed it … if the person hit it, it would have been carnage,” he said.
“What struck me for the first time is they’re there and how quickly they’ve gone through fences.
“If they damage a fence, it means horses and other things can get out on the road.”
Mr Bird said his neighbour had also seen deer in his driveway, while members of the Wonga Park Noticeboard Facebook page also chimed in with stories about deer sightings and damage.
Mr Bird said the deer’s activities posed a major safety threat for motorists and property owners.
“These things are bull-sized … people say they are seeing them more and more often, they say the destruction of what they’re doing to property is not good,” he said.
“If it’s an issue now, it’s only going to get worse if there’s nothing done about it.”
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The State Government is responsible for deer management and the animal is protected under the wildlife act.
Manningham Council’s director of city services Rachelle Quattrocchi said deer numbers had “increased significantly” in Manningham over the past three years.
The council joined with Nillumbik and Yarra Ranges councils in 2018 to ask the government to classify deer as a pest after their presence in the region exploded.
Ms Quattrocchi said the council had strongly advocated to the government to “do more to reduce the deer population in Manningham and other peri-urban areas”.
She said the council had not received any complaints about deer this month but encouraged residents to report any sightings.
A spokeswoman for Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio, who declined to be named, said the government was aware of the council’s issues with deers.
The spokeswoman said the State Government would roll out a new statewide deer management strategy later this year.