Wild deer are running rampant in Victoria and Tasmania, destroying crops and natural habitats, prompting calls to change local laws and allow the animals to be classified as pests.
The Invasive Species Council is pushing for deer to be classified as pests in the states—which are the only Australian jurisdictions where deer are legally protected as game animals for hunting purposes.
There are workarounds, so landowners can kill deer on their own properties and authorities can go on to public land and cull them.
However, not classifying deer as a pest creates a conflicting message about whether they can be culled, the council says, Theoretically, the animals can run wild on neighbouring properties without restriction….