Donate
Donate
Donate

New Victorian Cabinet an opportunity to raise ambition on feral deer

The Invasive Species Council has welcomed the incoming Victorian Ministry, urging the Allan Government to use the Cabinet reshuffle as a circuit breaker moment to tackle the state’s growing invasive species crisis.

Michaela Settle has been appointed Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development, alongside Enver Erdogan as Minister for Environment and Outdoor Recreation. Former Agriculture Minister Ros Spence will take on Roads and Road Safety and First Peoples – portfolios that are directly impacted by the state’s feral deer crisis.

The Council said strong coordination across government will be critical to addressing invasive threats rapidly spreading across the state and putting Victoria’s environment, economy and communities at risk.

Invasive Species Council Victorian Conservation Advocate John Kelly said:

‘We welcome the appointment of Minister Settle and Minister Erdogan to the critical Agriculture and Environment portfolios. Ahead of the election, they have a clear opportunity to shift from fragmented responses to a coordinated, well-funded strategy that matches the scale of the invasive species problem in Victoria.

‘In particular, this is a chance to reset the state’s focus on tackling feral deer, which are spreading like rabbits across the state due to outdated laws that protect these pests as a hunting resource.

‘Collaboration between the agriculture and environment portfolios is essential. Invasive species don’t respect portfolio boundaries, and neither can the solutions.

‘Ahead of the November election, Victorians will reward candidates and parties that prioritise urgent action on the growing feral animal problem – not just plans on paper, but investment in boots-on-the-ground.

‘Right now, Victoria’s laws are working against landholders and communities trying to do the right thing. Deer are still legally treated as wildlife, which creates confusion and unnecessary barriers to control. That has to change.

‘Feral deer populations are exploding across the state, damaging farmland, degrading landscapes and putting increasing pressure on native plants and animals.

‘We’re ready to work constructively with the new Ministers to deliver well-funded, strategic and coordinated plans that meet the scale of the problem and deliver for Victoria’s unique wildlife, environment, farmers and communities.

‘As a sheep farmer from Ararat in Western Victoria, we hope the new Agriculture Minister, Michaela Settle will support and understand the importance of eradicating feral deer, rather than protecting them.

‘We also hope the new Environment Minister Enver Erdogan will understand that increased incursions of deer into the outer suburban parts of Melbourne that he represents are a threat to road safety as well as an environmental disaster.

’Victoria’s diverse environment needs to be recognised as more than a mere playground for outdoor recreation but as a unique cultural, ecological and community asset that needs to be protected and conserved for future generations.’

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

Photo: Steve Morvell.

Related Content

Feral Deer Control: A Strategy for Tasmania
Feral deer in Victoria
Feral deer in Victoria

Media ContactS

  • Andrew Cox, CEO
  • James Trezise, Conservation Director
  • Andrew Cox, CEO
    ‬
Media enquiries

Media signup

Name(Required)
Sign up to receive our media releases in your inbox.
To receive / keep receiving occasional email updates such as Feral Herald, our online blog.
This field is hidden when viewing the form

Recent Media Releases

Your gift is a lifeline for nature.

Our protected areas are being trashed, trampled, choked and polluted by an onslaught of invaders. Invasive species are already the overwhelming driver of our animal extinction rate, and are expected to cause 75 of the next 100 extinctions.

But you can help to turn this around and create a wildlife revival in Australia. 

From numbats to night parrots, a tax-deductible donation today can help defend our wildlife against the threat of invasive weeds, predators, and diseases.

As the only national advocacy environment group dedicated to stopping this mega threat, your gift will make a big difference.

Donate Today

Do you need help?

Accordion Content

A silent crisis is unfolding across Australia. Every year, billions of native animals are hunted and killed by cats and foxes. Fire ants continue to spread and threaten human health. And the deadly strain of bird flu looms on the horizon. Your donation today will be used to put the invasive species threat in the media, make invasive species a government priority, ensure governments take rapid action to protect nature and our remarkable native wildlife from invasives-led extinction, death and destruction.

Donate Now

If you are having trouble submitting a form, please read this guide.

Please fill out the following form and one of our team will be in contact to assist as soon as possible. Please make sure to include any helpful information, such as the device you were using (computer, tablet or mobile phone) and if known, your browser (Mozilla Firefox, Chrome, Safari etc)

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is hidden when viewing the form
Drop files here or
Accepted file types: jpg, gif, png, docx, doc, pdf, txt, Max. file size: 10 MB, Max. files: 4.

    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]