Impact of feral deer, pigs and goats in Australia

The Hon Rick Mazza MLC Office I, 1139 Hay Street West Perth WA 6005

I write to communicate to the Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications the various economic, environmental and social benefits of hunting pest animals in Australia, in this case, feral deer, pigs and goats.

The economic benefit includes the sale of hunting equipment and trip-related purchases such as accommodation, food and drink.

For example, the Economic Impact of Recreational Hunting in New South Wales report found;

“The total expenditure across all methods by hunters with NSW game hunting licences was estimated to be $100.0 million, 45 per cent ($45.4m) of which was on on-trip items and 55 per cent ($54.6m) on off-trip items.

Of the off-trip expenditure, the main categories were firearms, bows and firearm equipment ($14.1m), vehicles ($8.6m), vehicle equipment ($5.2m) and ammunition ($5.1m). Fuel ($13.0m), groceries ($6.8m), other hunting equipment ($5.6m) and ammunition ($5.1m) were the main on-trip expenses.

Based on conservative assumptions, total expenditure across all relevant methods by hunters without NSW game hunting licences was estimated to be $446.2 million, 27 per cent ($119.3m) of which was on on-trip items and 73 per cent ($326.9m) on off- trip items.

Of the off-trip expenditure, the main categories were firearms, bows and firearm equipment ($86.2m), vehicles ($41.3m), vehicle equipment ($39.1) and ammunition ($28.3m). Fuel ($33.3m), groceries ($16.1m) and other hunting equipment ($12.8m) were the main on-trip expenses.”1

In the age of the internet, hunting provides an outlet for people to experience nature firsthand. Hunting can also provide a family with a healthy meal in the form of game food. As an advocate for responsible gun ownership and the hunting of feral and pest animals, on October 16, 2018 I read into the WA Legislative Council the Game and Feral Animal Control Bill 2018 to implement hunting on Western Australian public land.

a. The current and potential occurrence of feral deer, pigs and goats across Australia;

1 Economic Impact of Recreational Hunting in New South Wales report, pages 27 and 28. Feral deer, pigs and goats have high populations in Australia and they need to be controlled to restrict their behaviour. Australia is now home to about 25 million feral pigs and the nation loses more than $100 million to them annually.

As per the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development website, feral pigs are not native to Australia and are now established in a range of habitats around the country. Feral pigs are found across 45 per cent of Australia. They mostly reside near water sources.

Feral goats arrived in Australia in 1788, and are now prevalent across 28 per cent of the country. Numbers fluctuate, but the estimated number of feral goats in the country is 2.6 million, with the animals preferring rocky or hilly semi-arid areas. As per the Pest Smart, feral goats have estimated to cause losses to livestock farming of $25 million per year. New South Wales accounts for around 70 per cent of the national feral goat population.

However, many pastoralists muster goats on their properties, providing them a valuable source of income. As per Meat and Livestock Australia, goat meat exports were valued at $257 million in 2017, which was a 42 per cent gain on the previous year. This is largely driven by international demand, with the United States accounting for 66 per cent of Australian goat meat exports in 2017, a total of 18,885 tonnes. In 2017, domestic goat prices were $7.50/kg carcass weight, almost four times the rates of a decade ago. Goat has the advantage of no religious taboos, and as per Pollmate Consumer Tracker 2017, goat meat has been ranked as the least impactful on both the environment and animal welfare of all meats, except kangaroo.

Feral deer are found in pockets all over Australia. There are five species of deer that have established in New South Wales, including fallow deer, red deer, sambar deer, chital deer and rusa deer. A sixth species, hog deer, has been recorded but established populations are unknown.

Snake Island has a large hog deer population and allows for ballot hunting. Ballot hunting ensures the program is sustainable while maximising environmental outcomes, as well as trophy potential. Balloted hunting does not impact on the amenity of other users of the island, as confirmed in July 2016 by an independent expert from the Victoria Police Firearm Licencing and Regulation Division. The assessment states “I have no concerns at all relating to hunters using firearms on this island for the legal hunting of hog deer.”

Sunday Island has run balloted hunting for 50 years. Balloted hunting for hog deer on public land has occurred in Victoria on the Boole Poole Peninsula and at the Blond Bay State Game Reserve for the past 25 years. Hunting of hog deer has occurred in Corner Inlet without incident for 150 years. b. the likely and potential biosecurity risks and impacts of feral deer, pigs and goats on the environment, agriculture, community safety and other values;

Feral pigs dig up sections of soil and vegetation while they feed on crops and livestock. They could carry and spread diseases that could be transferred to other species, as well as affect the quality of water in dams. Feral pigs could be hosts or vectors for parasites and diseases which can affects other animals and people. They also prey on newborn lambs and eat native animals such as earthworms, beetles, centipedes, snakes and turtles.

Nationally, feral pigs are calculated to have inflicted $14.4 million in production loss costs per year since 2013-14, which is above the 2009 estimate of $10 million. Australia wide losses are estimated at $5 million for wool producers, $3 million for sheep meat farmers and $7 million for broad acre wheat and barley producers.

As the Australian Government’s Threat Abatement Plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (sus scrofa) (2017) report states, it is not possible to eradicate feral pigs from Australia with current resources and techniques, and it is unlikely to be possible in the near future, as they are so widely established.” Pigs can be trapped, shot, poisoned and contained via fencing, and elements of these methods need to be used to bring their numbers under control.

As the Federal Government’s Threat Abatement Plan for predation, habitat degradation, competition and disease transmission by feral pigs (sus scrofa) (2017) report says, “Managing environmental damage due to feral pigs requires an integrated and co-ordinated approach, often across a variety of land uses including national parks, reserves and agricultural lands.” As it stands, Western Australia does not allow for hunting on public lands, which restricts the ability to control these pest animals in an integrated and co- ordinated way.

Feral goats impact native vegetation via overgrazing native herbs, grasses, shrubs and trees. This can cause erosion in the landscape, which also prevents regeneration. Feral goats negatively affect conservation values and biological diversity by damaging vegetation and competing with native animals. Goats can also carry internal and external parasites which can affect sheep and cattle. Concerning feral goats, methods to control the species include ground shooting, using Judas goats to locate herds, mustering and trapping.

Deer are selective in what they eat in that they browse rather than graze, minimising grazing competition. An excessive number in localised areas can cause environmental damage. c. the effectiveness of current state and national laws, policies and practices in limiting the spread and mitigating impacts of feral deer, pigs and goats;

The legislation and management of deer is inconsistent across Australia, with some States and territories considering deer a pest (WA, SA, QLD, NT, ACT) while States with the largest deer populations (VIC, NSW, TAS) give deer full or partial protection status and manage deer primarily for recreational hunting.

It would be beneficial for States where deer numbers are high, like New South Wales and Victoria, to emulate Tasmania and consider exploring Quality Deer Management (QDM), which originated in the United States in the 1980s via Murphy Rae and Al Brothers.

The system involves the voluntary restraint in the harvesting of young males, combined with an increased harvest of female (or antlerless) deer and good record keeping. It promotes healthy deer in balance with the habitat in which they reside. If hunting pressure is maintained, the reduction in deer density via increases in antlerless deer harvest (where necessary) and restraint in harvesting immature males should benefit the overall condition of the herd while managing and controlling numbers, as has been the case in Tasmania.

Fallow deer were introduced into Tasmania in 1836 and wild populations were established 20 years later. Fallow deer are highly valued by sections of the Tasmanian community as a hunting resource and source of game food.

As per the ‘Statement of Current Management Practices for Tasmanian Wild Fallow Deer’ report, in 1973, a Parks and Wildlife report recommended changes to deer management to improve the age and sex structure of the fallow deer population. It also sought to reduce deer populations, however not all recommendations were implemented at the time.

In 1993, funding was secured by the Tasmanian Deer Advisory Committee (TDAC) from the Game Management Trust Fund to undertake a three year Fallow Deer Management Project with the intention of introducing QDM to Tasmania. The TDAC employed a consultant to assess the Tasmanian deer herd, the impact of the existing deer management practices on the population, and to initiate a QDM approach to deer management.

The consultant found the majority of bucks taken by hunters were first and second year heads, meaning few animals reached full maturity. This problem was addressed by a combination of property-based game management and QDM, which were promoted by the TDAC and the Department. Numerous hunter and landowner workshops were undertaken to educate the public on these systems. In 1996 the Game Management Unit formed to facilitate the implementation of property-based game management and QDM.

As the ‘Statement of Current Management Practices for Tasmanian Wild Fallow Deer’ report states, “the philosophies of QDM have, to some extent, become part of the hunter culture in Tasmania and this is demonstrated in the improvement in antler quality score, the number of antlerless deer being harvested and more balanced sex ratios in the population.” There is no requirement for landowners to implement QDM in Tasmania and all landowners inside and outside of the core deer range can apply for crop protection permits.

d. the efficacy and welfare implications of currently available control and containment tools and methods, and the potential for new control and containment tools and methods;

Feral pigs and wild dogs are capable of eating newborn lambs, which makes pigs, like wild dogs, a credible threat to sheep flocks and their animal welfare.

Further research needs to be done on wild deer populations as they spread across the Eastern States. As Sporting Shooters Association of Australia programs co-ordinator David Croft said, “We need to understand what they [deer] do and why they do it. Once we get that sort of knowledge, it will turn the tables a bit on the huntability of deer.” Deer don’t have a natural predator in Australian habitats, which leaves human hunters to pick up the slack.

According to the Mojo News article ‘Feral deer control: better research would turn the tables’, 40 per cent of the deer population needs to be killed in order to better control deer numbers in Victoria. Although no co-ordinated research has been undertaken, it is estimated deer numbers range from hundreds of thousands to one million.

The Quality Deer Management system is a balanced approach because it allows landholders to manage the unwanted aspects of deer while also maintaining recreational hunting for quality game food. Further investigation also needs to be undertaken on wild deer behaviours and population numbers.

More restricted areas in national park could also be opened up and made available for hunting. This could increase the number of feral animals taken by authorised hunters. We cannot completely eradicate wild deer, but their numbers can be managed, and therefore their damage to the landscape can also be reduced.

New safety regulations allowing for wild deer to be processed for human consumption in Victoria is also a positive development. Game meat is a healthy, fat-free product that is emerging as a popular choice for consumers. This gives another reason for hunters to target the pest other than their contribution to bring numbers under control.

e. the benefits of developing and fully implementing national threat abatement plans for feral deer, pigs and goats;

There are many benefits to developing and fully implementing national threat abatement plans for feral deer, pigs and goats. These include a reduction in the damage these feral animals cause, such as damage to the soil and the spread of disease, as I have already outlined. A national threat abatement plan means there is a uniform agreement as to how these pests should be tackled. It would also represent an acknowledgement of the situation and a shared responsibility. f. and any other related matters

As per the ‘Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters’ report, there are likely at least 200,000 and more likely 300,000 recreational hunters in the entirety of Australia and they spend in excess of $1 billion dollars annually on hunting. This is a significant contribution to the economy and the environment. Authorised hunting should be encouraged when possible given the economic and ecological benefits it provides to the country as a whole.

According to the ‘Economic Impact of Recreational Hunting in NSW’ report, recreational hunting by the 19,000 New South Wales game hunting licence holders accounts for $119 million of gross state product and 860 jobs within the NSW economy. The 207,000 non-game licence holders account for between $446 million and $1,366 million of gross state product and between 3,932 and 11,572 jobs.

Also according to the ‘Economic Impact of Recreational Hunting in NSW’ report, in Victoria, the Gross Regional Product impact by game hunting licence holders was $439 million. This is higher than the NSW figure given there are more hunters in Victoria, 45,000 v 19,000 in NSW. The expenditure per hunter was also higher in Victoria, $9,300 v $5,300 in NSW. CONCLUSION

 Native animals are at risk in Australia and need to be protected.  Feral animals have an impact on the environment and agricultural economy.  Recreational hunting has social and environmental benefit.  Recreational hunting is an annual economic benefit to Australia.  Feral and pest animals cost our country millions of dollars per year.  Quality Deer Management could be used by Victoria and NSW to control deer.  The system has been successfully used in Tasmania since the early 1990s.