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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-05-19 Daily Xml
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Feral Deer

The Hon. J.E. HANSON (14:49): I understand why the opposition might not want to. My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister update the council on the government's commitment to eradicating feral deer in South Australia?

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Could the government benches be silent while the minister is trying to answer the question. This is most unusual.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:50): I am very hurt by your interjections. I thank the honourable member for his question and for his interest in the state government's response to ensuring the feral deer population is kept under control. South Australia's feral deer population could grow from 40,000 to more than 200,000 in the next decade, which would have a significant negative economic impact on primary industries, and that is if it is not addressed.

Feral deer cost South Australian primary producers $36 million in production losses, and the figure could be as high as $242 million per year by 2031 if they are not addressed. These are part of the findings from the Feral Deer Control Economic Analysis Report, commissioned by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), with landscape boards and Livestock SA.

In response to the findings of the economic analysis, $4.3 million will be spent on feral deer control programs in South Australia over the next four years, between 2021-22 and 2024-25. The government of South Australia and landscape boards are providing $2 million, with the Australian government committing $2.3 million to undertake deer control across South Australia, with priority regions for control efforts identified as the Limestone Coast and Hills and Fleurieu regions, in partnership with landscape boards.

Feral deer are an agricultural, environmental and social pest—I am referring to feral deer, not those opposite.

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I am just clarifying—

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Point of order: she treats this council with contempt, and I ask that she withdraw that.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! You can withdraw that and then move on, please.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I withdraw. They eat native plants, trample saplings and damage mature plants, and they are the cause of production losses of around $36 million in 2020-21.

Feral deer compete with native wildlife and livestock for pastures and contribute to erosion in creek and river systems. They can also be a hazard on roads, of course, and cause vehicle accidents. I remember, as I was leaving Kingston on one of my many trips down to the South-East and back just a couple of years ago, just out of Kingston we missed a deer by about one metre. It was quite frightening for my children, who were in the car, and it certainly does bring home the sort of issues regional residents are dealing with whenever we go onto our roads.

The numbers of feral deer across the state are on the rise, and the analysis indicates that, if further action is not taken, populations could explode by 500 per cent in the next decade. The government of South Australia is committed to helping reduce numbers of feral deer around the state, through the South Australian declared animal policy for feral deer, with enforceable fencing and tagging standards to prevent the escape of farmed deer. In addition, there is also a requirement for landholders to destroy all feral deer on their properties.

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