The State Government has released a strategic plan for the 10-year South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program.
The Strategic Plan for the South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program 2022-32, which aligns with the National Feral Deer Management Plan released in August, has been developed to guide the eradication effort, and to better manage farmed deer within the state, building on the success of the program’s first year.
Regarded as one of Australia’s worst pest animals in both rural and peri-urban areas, feral deer cost South Australian primary producers an estimated $36m in direct productivity losses last year.
In addition to primary industry costs, feral deer have significant impacts on the environment and road safety.
At the time of the eradication program’s commencement in May 2022 there was an estimated 40,000 feral deer in the state.
In its first 18 months, over 11,000 feral deer have been removed from the South Australian landscape.
The South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program is a statewide partnership between the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), Landscape SA Board, the Department for Environment and Water (DEW), SA Water, ForestrySA and Livestock SA.
The program is jointly funded by both the Australian and South Australian Governments and the SA Landscape Boards.
The strategic plan has been endorsed by the chairs of the regional Landscape Boards in feral deer impacted regions (Eyre Peninsula, Hills and Fleurieu, Limestone Coast, Murraylands and Riverland and Northern and Yorke) and the chief executives of PIRSA, DEW, SA Water and ForestrySA.
In South Australia feral deer are declared for destruction under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, meaning land managers are required to destroy all feral deer on their land.
In addition to landholders investing their own funds for control, eradication programs in South Australia currently cost government about $1.1m a year.
Compared to eastern state populations, the South Australian feral deer numbers are still considered low enough for the opportunity to completely eradicate the pest.
Recent independent analysis of the 10-year eradication program against business-as-usual management of feral deer indicates the program will generate a net benefit to the community of $525m over a 10-year period.
Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven said feral deer were causing significant and growing impacts on primary industries, the environment and hazards on the roads.
“South Australia’s $17.3b primary industries and agribusiness sector is a vital part of our economy, supporting 71,000 jobs across the state, making the eradication of feral deer vitally important,” she said.
“Eradicating feral deer is a priority for the South Australian Government and the livestock industry, particularly in areas where feral deer densities and impacts are greatest such as the Limestone Coast, Northern and Yorke and Hills and Fleurieu regions.
“It is why we are investing more than $2m over a four-year period towards the SA Feral Deer Eradication Program from June 2021 through to June 2025.
“The sustained and co-ordinated culling efforts conducted under the South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program provide our best chance of achieving eradication of this destructive pest and protecting our state’s environment and primary production sector.
“The success of South Australia’s approach to date is already leading to interstate interest in how we are tackling the issue of feral deer.”
