Peri-Urban Deer Control Is Challenging: Three Case Studies and Strategies for Improved Outcomes

Abstract

Introduced deer are threatening Australia's natural values. Deer control is increasingly being implemented to reduce deer populations and mitigate their impacts. However, control programmes are expensive and challenging, particularly in peri-urban and agricultural landscapes. We present assessments of three typical deer control programmes from peri-urban/agricultural Victoria, south-eastern Australia. We assess programme effectiveness in reducing deer activity by using faecal pellet counts and/or camera traps, provide reflections from researchers and land managers on the potential reasons for programme successes, or lack thereof and highlight potential changes in programme strategies to improve outcomes. Ground-shooting by volunteer and/or contractor shooters removed primarily sambar (Cervus unicolor) in two programmes (Tarago State Forest, 2022–2023; and Jumping Creek catchment, 2017–2022), and both sambar and fallow deer (Dama dama) from the third programme (Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve, 2014–2019). In general, the deer control programmes did not reduce deer activity or impacts. Deer control was often too spatially restricted, and the frequency or intensity was insufficient to remove an adequate number of deer to reduce overall activity and subsequent impacts. Deer populations also often moved away from locations subject to control. Deer control is particularly difficult in fragmented peri-urban and agricultural landscapes due to deer immigration and emigration, and the logistical challenges of operating in a multi-tenure environment. To be effective, programmes need to be applied at appropriate spatial scales, monitored and adaptively managed. Community consultation and engagement is essential in peri-urban and agricultural areas to enable coordinated control across different land tenures, supported by adequate resourcing. Monitoring is critical to determine control effectiveness and enable programmes to be adaptively managed. Building on the successful collaborations and lessons learnt from previous control programmes, future programmes need to be more strategic and well-resourced to enable land managers to tackle the increasing threat posed by introduced deer in Australia.