Since the introduction of feral deer into the Limestone Coast their impact on primary production, community and the environment has been increasing.

Through its Feral Deer Eradication Program (the program) the Limestone Coast Landscape Board (LC Landscape Board) is eradicating feral deer from the Limestone Coast.

The program, which aligns with National and State Feral Deer Strategies, integrates aerial and ground shooting operations, monitoring, compliance and enforcement. The program is free to join and helps landholders meet their responsibilities to remove feral deer on their properties under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019.

Together we can eradicate feral deer from the Limestone Coast


Operation Results

Autumn 2023 operations results

The autumn 2023 shooting operation removed 2,334 feral deer from the Limestone Coast as part of a coordinated effort to reduce the pest’s impact on the region’s agriculture, native habitats and public safety.

Over 136 private properties, forestry reserves and conservation parks were accessed which covered over 499,566 hectares using aerial and ground shooting and Conservation Wildlife Management SA volunteers.

An increase of 40% more landholders signed up to participate in the 2023 autumn operation compared to 2022 autumn. This demonstrates the commitment of the community to protect the region.

The increase in landholders participating in the operations which has been funded though landscape levy and commonwealth funds allows the program to cover areas more efficiently with greater results.

The Autumn results demonstrates the effectiveness at removing feral deer using a suite of tools such as thermal assisted aerial shooting, standard aerial shooting, professional ground shooting contractors, meat harvesters and volunteers.

The use of thermal assisted aerial culling is increasingly being used with the autumn program achieving an average of one feral deer being removed every 4.66 minutes. On one property, a total of 88 deer were eradicated in less than 45 minutes. That’s a feral deer every 30 seconds!

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is calling upon landholders to sign up their property to participate in the Feral Deer Eradication Program, and we will be in contact when an operation is being conducted in your area.

Program

The Feral Deer Eradication Program (the program) delivers on the Limestone Coast Landscape Board's vision to have a healthy, productive and biodiverse Limestone Coast landscape.

The program is a coordinated effort to reduce the impact of feral deer on the regions primary production bottom line and environment.

Aerial shooting of feral animals from a helicopter is an effective and efficient technique that can be used across a variety of habitats. Aerial shooting is also ideal in heavily vegetated, inaccessible areas during the day when deer are seeking cover.

To maximise effectiveness and efficiency of aerial operations, the thermal assisted aerial culling technique is now being used where appropriate.

Aerial shooting can remove feral deer missed by other control programs (e.g. ground shooting or trapping), helping to achieve landscape scale eradication in a short timeframe.

Aerial shooting schedule for FY 2023-34

The following dates are scheduled for aerial shooting for the 2023-24 financial year. Please note these dates are subject to change.

  • Session 1 - 1 - 15 August 2023 (Central Limestone Coast)
  • Session 2 - 11 - 15 September 2023 (Northern Limestone Coast)
  • Session 3 - 19 - 30 October 2023 (Northern Limestone Coast)
  • Session 4 - 8 -12 April 2024 (Central Limestone Coast)
  • Session 5 - 28 April - 6 May 2024 (Northern Limestone Coast)
  • Session 6 - 7 - 12 May 2024 (Northern Limestone Coast)
  • Session 7 - 13 - 24 May 2024 (Northern Limestone Coast)

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is calling upon landholders to sign up their property to participate in the Feral Deer Eradication Program, and we will be in contact when an operation is being conducted in your area.

Eradicating feral deer is best achieved by land managers collaborating and implementing the most effective techniques at the largest possible scale and intensity. When planning aerial and ground shooting operations, the LC Landscape Board considers local terrain and individual landholder circumstances.

Integrating aerial and ground shooting operations will help to achieve landscape-scale eradication by using feral deer behaviour to the Programs advantage.

The LC Landscape Board undertakes its shooting operations in partnership with PIRSA and the Department for Environment and Water (DEW).

The Feral Deer Eradication Program is funded by the Australian Government, the Government of South Australia and landscape levies.

Ground shooting operations of feral deer with professional contractors combined with aerial shooting, helps to achieve landscape scale eradication in a short timeframe.

Ground shooting of feral deer by professional contractors utilising self-reloading firearms matched with suppressors and thermal assisted scopes can reduce noise and impact to livestock and target feral deer at night time when they are moving from native vegetation into open feeding areas.

Ground shooting schedule for FY 2023-24

Ground shooting is conducted predominantly in autumn however, professional contractors and dates are yet to be confirmed for 2023-24 financial year. The LC Landscape Board will provide additional correspondence later this year to landholders who select ground shooting services.

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board is calling upon landholders to sign up their property to participate in the Feral Deer Eradication Program, and we will be in contact when an operation is being conducted in your area.

Eradicating feral deer is best achieved by land managers collaborating and implementing the most effective techniques at the largest possible scale and intensity. When planning aerial and ground shooting operations, the LC Landscape Board considers local terrain and individual landholder circumstances.

Integrating aerial and ground shooting operations will help to achieve landscape-scale eradication by using feral deer behaviour to the Programs advantage.

The LC Landscape Board undertakes its shooting operations in partnership with PIRSA and the Department for Environment and Water (DEW).

The Feral Deer Eradication Program is funded by the Australian Government, the Government of South Australia and landscape levies.

The LC Landscape Board is committed to supporting landholders to eradicate feral deer on their properties and monitoring to determine the distribution and abundance of feral deer across the region is a key component of the Program.

Information collected from the monitoring inform the LC Landscape Board’s Feral Deer Eradication Program. Sightings on private land are reported to the landholders concerned who are then encouraged to participate in the LC Landscape Boards aerial and ground shooting operations.

Monitoring operations use visual and thermal-assisted technology and assists the Limestone Coast Landscape Board achieving eradication of feral deer in the region. Supported through funding from the South Australian Government Landscape Priorities Fund, the aerial monitoring targets areas of native vegetation where feral deer are suspected to shelter.

Ground monitoring is being used to support aerial monitoring and uses a combination of thermal assisted and visual spotting of feral deer along driven transects in priority areas. The ground monitoring has been conducted with Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation through funding support from the South Australian Government Landscape Priorities Fund.

The deer farm compliance operations of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board (LC Landscape Board) supports the Feral Deer Eradication Program through actions to prevent farmed deer escaping and boosting the feral deer population in the Limestone Coast.

Under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (the Act), deer are declared either for destruction or control depending on whether they are classified as feral or domestic (farmed) deer.

As part of the compliance operations, Landscape Officers with the LC Landscape Board work directly with deer farmers to ensure all farmed deer are ear tagged and confined to clearly differentiate them from feral deer.

Deer farm inspections have followed an awareness campaign to registered deer farmers reminding them of the obligations when farming deer.

Results of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board (LC Landscape Board) aerial monitoring and shooting operations, and the findings from the Feral Deer Economic Impact Assessment report have been the catalyst for significant investment over the next three years to contribute to the feral deer eradication effort.

The LC Landscape Board Feral Deer Eradication Program funding partners include:

  • Commonwealth funds
  • Landscape levy
  • Our Coorong | Our Coast supported by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board through funding from the Australian Government's National Landcare Program
  • South Australian Government Landscape Priority Fund - ‘Stopping the Spread of Feral Deer’
  • The Australian Government’s ‘Supporting Communities Manage Pest Animals and Weeds Program’
  • Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia
  • The Australian Government’s Environment Restoration Fund, Threatened Species Strategy Action Plan, Priority Species Grants, Malleefowl

The LC Landscape Board also work closely with groups such as National Parks and Wildlife Service South Australia, Burrandies Aboriginal Corporation and the Conservation & Wildlife Management (CWM) SA.

The Conservation & Wildlife Management (CWM) a member group of the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) South Australia, have been in partnership with the Department for Environment and Water (DEW) since 1992 also completing activities for SA Water, Forestry SA, Nature Foundation and many other organisations.

The upcoming activities for 2023 as supplied by the CWMSA are as follows.

  • 6-12 August 2023 - Messent, Martin Washpool
  • 13-19 August 2023 - Desert Camp, Gum Lagoon
  • 20-26 August 2023 - Mt Scott, Hanson Scrub
  • 27 Aug - 2 September 2023 - Fairview, Talapar, Big Heath.

For further information on CWMSA activities or to join the organisation please visit Conservation and Wildlife Management (SA) Inc (cwmsa.com.au).

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board applaud the efforts of the CWMSA program as we all work to eradicate feral deer from the Limestone Coast.

News

  • Autumn operation delivers results

    from the recent autumn operation undertaken by the LC Landscape Board where over 2,011 feral deer were removed from the Limestone Coast....

    See 'Operation Results' in above menu..
  • Feral deer program hits the road

    Community program updates in Kingston & Penola

    Community members are invited to attend an update for the Limestone Coast Landscape Board’s (LC Landscape Board) Feral Deer Eradication Program in Penola on Tuesday 13 June and Kingston on Thursday 15 June 2023.

    Click on Events in the menu above to register
  • Feral deer in the news

    Deer causes chaos after breaking into Melbourne home before becoming trapped. Source ABC

    Watch now... 
  • National Feral Deer Action Plan

    The Centre for Invasive Species have released the draft National Feral Deer Action Plan for a three-month public consultation.

    The plan takes a multifaceted approach to reduce the impacts of feral deer by focusing on three goals:

    • Stop the spread of large feral deer populations and reduce their impact.
    • Control or eradicate small, isolated populations before they spread.
    • Protect significant sites and species from the impact of feral deer.
    View the draft plan... 
  • Scale of eradication of feral deer increases

    Almost 3,500 feral deer have been removed from the Limestone Coast in 2022 as the LC Landscape Board turns its sights to increasing the scale of their eradication efforts with the largest ever control program scheduled for autumn 2023.

    In 2022, the LC Landscape Board’s Feral Deer Eradication Program accessed 100 private properties and conservation parks covering over 175,000 hectares.


    Read the full news story here... 
  • Community urged to report feral deer sightings

    The Limestone Coast community are encouraged to report and enter any feral deer sighting information in to DeerScan. DeerScan is a free resource available to anyone in the Limestone Coast. Individuals can use DeerScan to record feral deer sightings, report feral deer impacts, and document control action.

    Information you enter can alert the Limestone Coast Landscape Board about feral deer activity and help to guide our future programs.


    Visit DeerScan for more information... 
  • Feral deer in the news

    Deer leaps into suburban Melbourne backyard.

    Residents of a Melbourne street were taken completely by surprise when a large deer jumped into a suburban backyard.

    Source. 9 NEWS.

    Watch now... 
  • Report confirms feral deer costing millions

    A call for properties to participate in the Limestone Coast Landscape Board Feral Deer Eradication Program follows the release of a feral deer economic analysis commissioned by PIRSA in consultation with Landscape Boards and Livestock SA. The report found South Australia’s feral deer population could explode by more than 500% in the next decade, costing primary producers up to $242 million if further control action is not taken.

    Read the full news story here... 
  • Shoot hits the region’s feral deer population

    The latest autumn shooting program removed over 1,160 feral deer from the Limestone Coast region as part of a coordinated effort to reduce the pest’s impact on the region’s agriculture, native habitats and public safety.

    Read the full news story here... 

Events

The Limestone Coast Landscape Board will be presenting community updates of the Feral Deer Eradication Program at Kingston and Penola.

The community updates will be open to all members of the Limestone Coast including but not limited to past, present and prospective members of the Feral Deer Eradication Program.

The events which will be run in the same format at both events will provide attendees with an overview of the Feral Deer Eradication Program including its operations, partnerships and commitment to the region.

There will also be an opportunity for questions by the community. Registration to the events is essential.

  • Penola Program Update

    Tuesday 13 June 2023

    The Limestone Coast Landscape Board welcomes all to a public community meeting which will present an update of the Feral Deer Eradication Program in the region.

    Tuesday 13 June 2023

    From 4pm

    Penola Football Club


  • Kingston Program Update

    Thursday 15 June 2023

    The Limestone Coast Landscape Board welcomes all to a public community meeting which will present an update of the Feral Deer Eradication Program in the region.

    Thursday 15 June 2023

    From 4pm

    Crown Inn Kingston

Opportunities to be involved:

  • Register your interest in future operations

    Have you seen feral deer on your property?

    Sign up to the Feral Deer Eradication Program and register your details to be informed of future feral deer operation in your area.

    Sign up now...