Feral Deer

The Hon. M. EL DANNAWI (15:17): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister update the council about the ongoing efforts to eradicate feral deer from South Australia?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her question. Members may recall that I have spoken previously in this place about the ongoing efforts to eradicate feral deer from our state. Feral deer are a declared pest under the Landscape South Australia Act, and land managers are required to destroy feral deer on their land. This is to protect our primary industries, to protect the natural environment, and to protect road users from the impacts of feral deer.

Until recently, feral deer numbers were increasing across agricultural parts of South Australia, and it was clear that action was required to address the issue and protect some of our key agricultural regions from the devastating impacts of feral deer. In 2021 there was an estimated population of over 40,000 feral deer, and that was projected to increase to over 200,000 by 2031 if there was no increase in control activities.

We know that feral deer costs South Australian primary producers an estimated $36 million in agricultural productivity losses—that was in 2022—and modelling predicted this could become a quarter of a billion dollars by 2031. That would, of course, have enormous negative impacts on our primary producers.

Despite the approach to the feral deer eradication program by the current South Australian Liberal Party, the former Liberal environment minister identified the need to address this issue and initiated the partnership with a number of regional landscape boards, playing a key role in developing an ambitious 10-year South Australian feral deer eradication program.

I know that members on this side of the chamber are pleased to know that the feral deer eradication program is continuing this year with great success and has recently reported 21,000 feral deer eradicated from across a number of areas of our state. Operations have been underway in the Limestone Coast, Fleurieu Peninsula, Adelaide Hills, peri-urban areas around Adelaide (Adelaide Hills Council and the City of Onkaparinga), Eyre Peninsula and Loxton in the Riverland.

Breaking down the 21,000 eradicated deer numbers: 13,000 have been culled from the Limestone Coast region, which to put in perspective is the equivalent of the grazing pressure of 20,000 sheep. As I have spoken previously, I visited producers in the lower and upper Limestone Coast region impacted by feral deer and heard firsthand the overwhelming benefits that culling feral deer have. This is even more valuable now because given the tough drought conditions it means that there is increased grazing pressure. Removing feral deer reduces that grazing pressure.

In addition to the Limestone Coast operation, I am advised that 5,600 feral deer have been eradicated from the Adelaide Hills and Fleurieu Peninsula region, 126 from Eyre Peninsula and 636 have been culled from the Adelaide International Bird Sanctuary, along with a small population in Loxton that has almost been eradicated. We expect these numbers to reduce once again when the next round of culling occurs in April across various locations in South Australia.

We know that aerial culling is the most effective landscape level tool available to rapidly reduce feral deer populations and their impacts. I am also pleased to advise that PIRSA staff have been working with commercial processors of feral deer to explore further opportunities to have even more deer processed for human consumption.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the landscape boards that are involved in this program for the time and effort they have put in to ensure that the eradication of feral deer is a success. I would hope that members would agree that to have such a significant drop in the numbers of feral deer to under half within just a few short years is worthy of acknowledgement. I look forward to once again continuing to update this place on the work being done to hopefully one day soon achieve complete eradication of feral deer from South Australia.