The state government has released a strategic plan for the 10-year South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program, with a focus on hotspots including the Fleurieu.

The Strategic Plan for the South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program 2022-32, which aligns with the National Feral Deer Management Plan released in August, has been developed to guide the eradication effort, and to better manage farmed deer within the state, building on the success of the program’s first year.

Regarded as one of Australia’s worst pest animals in both rural and peri-urban areas, feral deer cost South Australian primary producers an estimated $36 million in direct productivity losses last year. 

In addition to primary industry costs, feral deer have significant impacts on the environment and road safety.

When the eradication program started in May 2022 there were an estimated 40,000 feral deer in the state.

In its first 18 months, the program has removed more than 11,000 feral deer from the South Australian landscape.

The program is a statewide partnership between the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, Landscape SA Board, the Department for Environment and Water, SA Water, ForestrySA and Livestock SA. 

It is jointly funded by both the federal and state governments and the SA Landscape Boards. 

This Strategic Plan has been endorsed by the Chairs of the regional Landscape Boards in feral deer impacted regions, including the Hills and Fleurieu, and the Chief Executives partner agencies.

The goals of the Strategic Plan are to: 

• Eradicate feral deer from South Australia in 10-years.
• Engage with stakeholders to promote coordinated, landscape-scale, feral deer control and build capacity for implementation.
• Prevent harbouring of feral deer, and the illegal release and escape of farmed deer through the enforcement of best practice fencing and tagging standards.

In South Australia feral deer are declared for destruction under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, meaning land managers are required to destroy all feral deer on their land. 

In addition to landholders investing their own funds for control, eradication programs in South Australia currently cost government about $1.1 million a year.

Compared to eastern state populations, the South Australian feral deer numbers are still considered low enough for the opportunity to completely eradicate the pest. 

A 10-year eradication program has been estimated to generate a net benefit to the community of $525 million.

Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven says feral deer are causing significant and growing impacts on primary industries, our environment and hazards on our roads.

“South Australia's $17.3 billion primary industries and agribusiness sector is a vital part of our economy, supporting 71,000 jobs across the state, making the eradication of feral deer vitally important.

“Eradicating feral deer is a priority for the South Australian Government and the livestock industry, particularly in areas where feral deer densities and impacts are greatest such as the Limestone Coast, Northern and Yorke and Hills and Fleurieu regions.

“It is why we are investing more than $2 million over a four-year period towards the SA Feral Deer Eradication Program from June 2021 through to June 2025.

“The sustained and co-ordinated culling efforts conducted under the South Australian Feral Deer Eradication Program provide our best chance of achieving eradication of this destructive pest and protecting our state’s environment and primary production sector.

“The success of South Australia’s approach to date is already leading to interstate interest in how we are tackling the issue of feral deer.”