Parks Victoria is undertaking a deer control program which will continue over 10 nights in the Dandenong Ranges National Park as part of the State Government’s Peri-urban Deer Control Plan released last year.
Parks Victoria District Manager Charlie Bisset said the control program will help to reduce the impact of deer in the Dandenong Ranges in line with the plan.
“Deer are being sighted in higher numbers in the Dandenong Ranges, moving into new areas and causing greater impact,” Mr Bisset said.
“Deer can cause serious damage to native plants, animals and habitat by trampling and destroying plants, increasing grazing pressure, ring-barking young trees, fouling waterholes, causing soil erosion and spreading weeds.
“Parks Victoria will also set up a vegetation monitoring program to survey the impact of deer in the forest and wetland areas of the park.”
Mr Bisset said the plan sets out a long-term coordinated approach to control deer numbers in the outskirts of eastern and northern Melbourne.
“Parks Victoria will continue to protect wildlife and their habitats in the Ranges through control operations like this one,” he said.
The State Government launched the Peri-urban Deer Control Plan in March 2022, identifying priority locations for deer control and setting out a long-term, coordinated approach to reduce the threat deer pose to the environment, farming, public safety and Aboriginal cultural heritage, including in the Dandenong Ranges.
The State Government released the Victorian Deer Control Strategy, led by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) in October 2020 with an initial $1 million allocation to implement actions in Peri-Urban Melbourne.
$18.25 million was allocated over four years for the development and delivery of deer control across Victoria.
Parks Victoria one of the partners delivering on the strategy.
For more information, visit https://www.environment.vic.gov.au/invasive-plants-and-animals/deer-control-program/deer-control-strategy
