MEDIA RELEASE

26 January 2015

NSW should declare feral deer pests

The Greens NSW agriculture spokesperson Jeremy Buckingham today announced the Greens policy on feral deer, saying that the next Parliament should stop protecting deer as a hunting resource and instead declare feral deer a pest species and develop a state-wide control and eradication strategy.

 “Feral deer are the most significant emerging pest animal threat in NSW, causing major ecological and agricultural impacts, and the Greens want them to be declared a pest in line with feral pigs, rabbits, locusts, wild dogs and foxes,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“In 2012, under pressure from the Shooters and Fishers Party, the NSW government passed special regulations related to deer hunting which deliberately hampered feral deer control and eradication efforts at the expense of agriculture and the environment.  These changes included the imposition of bag limits, a deer season, the prohibition of hunting at night and bans on shooting from a vehicle or with a spotlight.

“The Government has backed the Shooters and Fishers Party in their desire to keep our forests stocked full of targets regardless of the environmental or agricultural cost.  The Greens do not want to see our state become a private game park.

“Feral deer are a serious agricultural pest as they consume and damage crops and stock feed, compete with livestock, damage fences and lead to an increase in the population of wild dogs.  They are also a biosecurity nightmare as they spread weeds and pathogens such as foot and mouth disease,” said Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham.

“The environmental damage feral deer cause has led to their recognition as a key threatening process under the Threatened Species Conservation Act as they cause serious damage to native plant species and ecological communities, primarily by browsing, grazing and antler rubbing.

“Currently we do not even know with any certainty what the numbers and extent of feral deer are in NSW, and as a priority a state-wide census of deer numbers should be conducted,” Mr Buckingham said.

Greens candidate for Bega, Margaret Perger said: “Instead of the current ad hoc and ineffective amateur hunting regime in NSW, the Greens support the development of professional deer control and eradication programs to protect the environment and agriculture.

 “Deer are an increasingly serious pest species in National Parks, State Forests and farmland in many parts of our region and this initiative will ensure that our local ecology and agriculture are protected from their impacts,” Ms Perger said.

“Promotion of amateur shooting by events such as the Narooma Huntfest is not the solution,” she said.

Contact: Jeremy Buckingham – 9230 2202 or 0439 460 691

Margaret Perger – 0400 719 077