Stay alert if you are visiting a national park in the Australian state of Victoria.
There may just be a heavily armed deer hunter lurking around the corner.
The Victorian National Parks Association, Invasive Species Council and Environment East Gippsland have all slammed the state government’s decision to open 130,000 hectares of the Errinundra (above) and Snowy River National Parks to seasonal deer hunting.
"The government is shooting themselves in the foot," said Victorian National Parks Association executive director Matt Ruchel.
"People visit national parks to walk, camp, birdwatch and immerse themselves in nature – not share the bush with amateur shooters with high-powered weapons."
State Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos says hunting will "reduce the impact of deer on our national parks", but the government's 2021 Statewide Deer Control Strategy states that "...recreational hunting on its own is not an effective means of controlling deer numbers.”
Jack Gough, CEO of the Invasive Species Council, said: "Let's be clear, this is not a serious response to the serious issue of out-of-control feral deer populations trashing, trampling and polluting our forests and rivers. Opening up national parks to recreational hunting is not going to make a difference to numbers on the ground."
The government touts economic benefits from the state's 45,000 licensed hunters. But national parks receive 50 million visits annually - three times more than state forests. This generates greater economic value through nature-based tourism.
Independent polling shows that when asked what visitors valued most about national parks, 53% cited peace and quiet, while 37% explicitly identified "no shooting or hunting" as a reason they would visit national parks more often.
The decision dramatically expands hunting areas beyond the 1.8 million hectares of state forest already available in eastern Victoria.
If hunting proceeds, Parks Victoria will need dramatically more rangers with enforcement powers, opponents argue. Given the government has consistently cut funding to Parks Victoria, it’s unclear how it will finance the monitoring and compliance of 45,000 licensed hunters across these vast landscapes, along with the safety of visitors.
"We don’t need deer control as just a sport,” said Ruchel. “We need bigger co-ordinated control programs with integrated aerial control and supervised, accredited or professional hunters, especially for the most important habitats.”
The organisations are calling for a clear, well-funded program to protect high-conservation-value areas, using a combination of professional control, supervised accredited hunters, and thermal-assisted aerial programs that can reduce deer populations faster than they reproduce.
