Biosecurity is no game, deer

Ian Durey, a cattle producer near Glenn Innes, said the local deer population had exploded in the past 20 years, eating into his profit margins.

"You can now see hundreds of deer in a day here, and it has really reduced my stock numbers," he said.

"Deer will always find their way onto the best tucker at night. It has got to the point where we can't lock country up and get pasture started.

"We have also gone back to plain wire fencing. Ring lock fences were getting destroyed and it is very costly to constantly spend time and money on repairs."

Mr Durey said it was annoying that deer were not a declared pest, because "they cause more damage to his operation than pigs or foxes".

"I would like to know how the government can be so restrictive over an issue that is doing so much harm."

Northern Tablelands Local Land Services general manager Paul Hutchings said on top of their economic impact, deer pose a significant biosecurity risk.

The Land reported on January 22 ("Feral deer policy gaps", p55) that CSIRO had identified wild deer as a risk of spreading foot and mouth and blue tongue outbreaks.

"We know (deer) pose various biosecurity threats, but there is no data with which to assess the magnitude of these threats. Essentially there is no funding to collect information on disease status for example," said CSIRO's bisoecurity flagship science director, Gary Fitt.

Mr Hutchings said because deer ranged "freely across property boundaries" they could "catch a nasty disease, which would be a major risk if we get a blue tongue or foot and mouth disease outbreak".

While landholders are not restricted "too much" over culling deer on their own property, he said, LLS organises control programs with landholders for pigs, dogs and foxes - providing logistical support and funding for aerial shooting and other measures.

But deer are not a declared pest, meaning LLS would have to jump through bureaucratic hoops and be approved for a deer control order by the Department of Primary Industries to act as the co-ordinator of a control program.

"Legislation does not support a deer eradication culture, more a management utilisation culture," Mr Hutchings said.

Control measures, which could include trapping, shooting and baiting must be run on a district-wide scale to combat the "highly mobile" deer, he said.

"A landowner might carry out shooting on their property, but one of the neighbours might be too busy to do the same, so the net impact is not significant."

Mr Durey said the deer population was so significant that for the last two years, one licensed game harvester shot 1250 deer each year for two years in a local valley for little benefit.

Mr Durey attempted to organise a petition to government to put a control order in place "but there were too many hurdles to jump".

A deer control order will be an on the agenda when Northern Tablelands LLS later this month.

Mr Hutchings said there are arguments to consider on both sides - that deer are an economic resource through recreational hunting but a pest to be eradicated from farmers point of view.