Cassy O'Connor MP | Greens Leader and Parks spokesperson
Tasmania’s feral deer numbers are increasing due to State Government policy that encourages population growth to provide sport for hunters at the expense of farmers and the environment.
The Greens strongly support the call made by the Invasive Species Council today for a deer management plan that treats deer as the destructive pest species they are, and works to remove them from the landscape.
For too long, the shooting industry has literally called the shots and with the support of a game management branch within DPIPWE - that’s far better resourced than the Threatened Species Unit – ensured feral deer numbers continue to climb.
If deer become established in fragile protected areas like the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area it will be a disaster.
Tasmania is one of only two Australian jurisdictions that doesn’t treat feral deer as a pest species. Our farmers and natural environment are paying a high price for this folly.
It’s gone on too long. Minister Barnett is responsible for this situation, he needs to act and develop a plan that eradicates feral deer from Tasmania rather than encouraging them to have a permanent, destructive place in this fragile landscape.