Feral deer behaviour a new concern for high country beef producers

Currently, all Victorian deer species are declared as protected wildlife and listed as game, allowing them to be hunted.

Anyone hunting deer in Victoria must hold a current Game Licence.

A Frontier Economics report commissioned by the Invasive Species Council, says feral deer could cost the community between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion over the next 30 years.

ISC Victorian Deer Project officer Peter Jacobs said current government policies were not helping in current, or future, control of deer.

"The fact deer remain protected, under the Wildlife Act, is a relic of decades ago when they were being managed for hunting," Mr Jacobs said.

"While hunting certainly takes out some deer, it's not strategic - we are saying they need to be treated like rabbits and foxes; they need to be considered a pest species."

But SSSA communications manager Barry Howlett cast doubts on number of deer, identified in the Invasive Species Council report.

"There are a lot the inputs in that economic report that are fairly dubious, a lot of assumptions about wildlife management and the numbers are pretty dubious," Mr Howlett said.

He said deer hunting would bring a $7 billion benefit, over the same time.

"Deer hunting brings in $201m a year to the Victorian economy and supports 1671 jobs," Mr Howlett said.

There had been three government studies, over a decade, which backed those figures.

"I think it about the ISC running an anti-hunting agenda and trying to mask it as something else," he said.

"They know (designation as a) game species is no impediment to the management of deer in Victoria"

Victoria had a 365-day a year open season, with no bag limit, under the game species status.

He said lifting the status would put 52,000 licenced hunters access to public land at risk.

The designation of deer as a game species enabled training, data collection and good regulation - "to take that away, to please the ideology of some bloke in an office in Sydney would be pretty reckless," he said.

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Karen Moroney, Arajarra Red Breed stud, runs a herd of 250 Aussie Red dairy cows, Eskdale, said lifting the declaration of deer as a game species would not result in greater control of the animals.

Ms Moroney, who is Vice President of the Mitta Valley Landcare Group said she used professional harvesters (shooters) to control deer on her property.

"It's managed, it's respectful and I get reports, with GPS tracking, as to where the deer have been sighted; we also get reports if harvesters see broken fences or other damage."

She said she didn't want to see deer classified as a pest.

"The game designation is about managing hunters, not deer."

Deer had been classified as a pest in other states and territories in a bid to reduce populations, she said.

""But in all those jurisdictions it has failed to achieve that result by any objective measures - it just means there is no knowledge of the scale of deer hunting any more, or the size of the recreational take."

Ms Moroney said she and husband Wayne called a deer "a big rabbit.

"In terms of dry sheep equivalent, 2.5 deer equal one dairy cow - that's how much they eat.

The main economic impact was pasture loss and having to change management practices.

"Deer come along and nip off the top part of the crops, that's where the sugar content is, and they love it," Ms Moroney said.

"It slows down the growth of the crops."

Deer were particularly hard on oat crops, but also targeted brassicas and ryegrass and clover pastures, she said.

Apart from that there was damage to fences, while deer also created wallows, fouled waterways, could also transmit weeds on their hides, and spread disease, she said.

"They transmit a livestock disease, in young cattle in particular as their immune systems aren't as strong.

"If young stock ingest some of the deer poo, that can actually kill them."

And professional deer harvester, Simon Feillafe, Baranduda, said while he agreed deer were having a huge financial impact they should still be covered by the Wildlife Act.

More money was being spent on controlling deer than other species, like rabbits, foxes and pigs, he said.

"You can't hunt pest animals in certain parks, so there are thousands of hectares that are now available that you lock out, if you change the legislation," Mr Feillafe said.

"A control that is free to the state is going to be taken away.

"I like them as a game species, but I treat them as a pest and as a resource - name change isn't necessarily for the better, as far as I am concerned."

He said he had been involved in deer control for more than 25 years and changing the status of the animals would push hunters onto private land, meaning they would be harder to regulate.

Simon Lawlor runs sheep and cattle in the Upper Livingstone Valley, 12 kilometres south of Omeo, and said deer should no longer be classified as a game species.

"They are this generation's rabbits - they are that thick," Mr Lawlor said.

He said the good season meant there had been limited impact on his paddocks lately, but another problem had emerged.

"The deer are trying to mate with the females," he said.

"I run upwards 100 heifers a year to try and join, are the deer having an adverse effect on getting heifers in calf?"

Lifting the classification would allow the use of more control measures, such as poison.