The Department of Primary Industries and Regions says more than 1000 feral deer were culled on Fleurieu Peninsula forests, farms and private conservation properties in September 2022.

The aerial cull was part of a State and Commonwealth funded SA Feral Deer Eradication Program, coordinated by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA), with support from Landscapes Hills and Fleurieu, and ForestrySA.

The $4 million state and federal government initiative to reduce numbers of feral deer is in response to The Feral Deer Control Economic Analysis report, which found South Australia's feral deer population could explode from 40,000 to more than 200,000 in the next decade if more control action is not taken.

A total of 1,019 feral deer were destroyed, with 55 private landowners involved.

The Hills and Fleurieu region have the second highest population of feral deer in the state.

The number of deers in the region was estimated to be about 8,000 before the September cull.

Population modelling indicates that without further action, this population could increase to over 36,000 by 2032.

Aerial culling is the most effective landscape-scale tool currently available for rapidly reducing the impacts of feral deer.

It also uses thermal cameras, known as thermal assisted aerial culling (TAAC), which improves the detection rate of deer in dense vegetation, when compared to non-thermal aerial culls.

TAAC enables culling from greater heights, up to 150m, to reduce disturbance to livestock.

Minister for Primary Industries Clare Scriven said half a tonne of venison was harvested from the culled deer which will be used to manufacture baits for wild dogs, as part of the program to eradicate wild dogs from South Australian sheep country.

A community meeting was held on Friday 30 September in Parawa at the conclusion of the cull. Around 40 locals attended to meet the helicopter pilot and the marksmen and to hear the results of the cull.