Feral Deer Head For The Hills
Illawarra Mercury
Saturday August 25, 2007
The scourge of landholders and motorists over the past month, the Illawarra's deer population is receding back into bushland ... but they'll be back, reports MICHELLE HOCTOR.
THE Illawarra's feral deer population may have retreated to the escarpment for now, but the region should prepare itself for an extra 1000 by autumn, a Game Council NSW spokesperson said.Game manager Steve Hurt said this year's two-month rutting season was over but deer numbers, estimated at 5000 along the escarpment, were expected to increase by 20 per cent as a result."There are still a couple of fellas around, looking for mates, but most have turned their heads to the fringe of the escarpment, looking to forage."The Illawarra's deer are of the Rusa breed from India, with the females, or hinds, expected to give birth in late March to early April.Mr Hurt said the good news - for now - was residents could expect a reduction in herd numbers making their way into suburbia and causing trouble as a result of rutting behaviour, such as congregating and fighting.A spokesperson for the National Parks and Wildlife Service added that the new spring growth along the mountain meant householders were also less likely to find the animals destroying their gardens.Problems with the region's deer population began emerging three weeks ago after the RSPCA said it had approved a major cull in the Royal National Park. On August 5, Wollongong City Council said it intended to install deer warning signs throughout the city to highlight the hazards.It came too late for Mangerton father David Clare who criticised the council after his 16-year-old son Eliot was seriously injured when his motorbike struck a deer near Figtree.Three deer led police and a shooter on a chase through the streets of Fairy Meadow on August 8, with one of the animals being destroyed after hitting a car.At the time, police expressed frustration, saying call-outs for accidents were increasing. NRMA Insurance concurred, announcing the next day that Wollongong ranked second in NSW for vehicle collisions with deer.Mr Hurt said the impending deer population explosion underlined the need to maintain culling programs. Three organisations have authority to carry out controlled culls: the Game Council NSW, National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Rural Lands Protection Board.Since January 2005, the Game Council has culled 200 deer, which does not include the heavy culls undertaken in the past four weeks."We have been carrying out culls in the region on a weekly basis during this time. These culls are still ongoing," Mr Hurt said.On August 17, Wollongong council's Pest Animal Advisory Group began installing 20 signs throughout the city, warning motorists of deer herds, especially at Mt Ousley, Mt Kembla and Figtree, where residents reported herds of up to 30 deer roaming the streets at night.Wollongong Police Acting Sergeant Gilbere Gassin said no accidents had been recorded since the signs had been erected, although problems continued with illegal hunters who were using the rising feral deer population as an excuse to slaughter the animals and take their antlers."Cowboys are roaming the escarpment, mostly with bows and arrows and wearing camouflage gear," he said."They are trespassing and basically being very dangerous in residential areas."On Thursday, he issued his first official warning to a hunter who was setting out from O'Briens Rd with a bow and arrow."I told him I could have charged him on the spot," he said."From now on, the police intend to come down hard on offenders."Killing with a bow and arrow is a slow and painful death."
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury