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Biosecurity alert: sambar deer spotted in Murray region sparks urgent call for community reports

The Invasive Species Council is urging residents and landholders in South Australia’s Murray region to be on high alert and immediately report any sightings of feral sambar deer, following recent confirmed reports of the destructive pest in the area.

The Council warns that sambar deer – the largest feral deer species in Australia – pose a massive threat to the local environment and the region’s $1.5 billion agricultural economy if allowed to establish.

‘South Australia is currently leading the nation with its bold, highly successful feral deer eradication program, but these recent sambar deer sightings in the Murray region show we cannot afford to lose focus,’ Invasive Species Council Senior Advocate James Johnston said.

‘Sambar deer are massive, highly destructive animals that can weigh up to 300 kilograms. If they get a foothold in the Murray region, they will trample unique river systems, strip native vegetation, smash farm fencing, and ruin vital irrigation infrastructure.

‘We have seen the devastation in Victoria and New South Wales, where sambar numbers have exploded into the hundreds of thousands, trashing national parks and costing farmers millions. South Australia has a critical, narrow window to stop that nightmare scenario from happening here.

‘The state government and the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board have done a fantastic job removing over 28,400 feral deer across the state so far, but completing this historic eradication requires the community to act as eyes on the ground.

‘We are urging every landholder, bushwalker, and motorist in the Murray region: if you see a sambar deer, do not assume someone else has reported it. Report it immediately.

‘The government cannot afford to play whack-a-mole with invasive pests. A rapid, coordinated response to these new sightings right now will save millions of dollars in the long run and protect the Murray’s pristine natural landscapes before these invaders can breed and spread.

‘South Australia is on the cusp of becoming the first mainland state to completely wipe out feral deer. Let’s finish the job.’

What to look for:

  • Size and appearance: sambar deer are large and robust (house-cow-sized), with a dark brown coat and a pale buff color on their rumps and the undersides of their tails.
  • Behavior: They are highly elusive, often nocturnal, and prefer thick cover, but they leave distinct deep tracks, wallows in wetlands, and heavy antler-rubbing damage on tree bark.

How to report: Landholders and community members should report all feral deer sightings via the FeralScan app/website or by contacting the Murraylands and Riverland Landscape Board.

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004.

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]