Managing Feral deer on the Central Coast

Feral deer are a major issue in NSW and in particular around various areas of the Central Coast. Feral deer and increasingly impacting agriculture, biodiversity, and public safety. 

Managing feral deer numbers is important to preserve the natural biodiversity of our native forests, reduce their impact on income generating and lifestyle properties. 

The feral deer population in NSW costs up to $29 million annually, affecting both government and private landowners. Agriculture suffers significant losses from crop damage, fencing destruction and competition with livestock. Additionally, environmental impacts require resources for habitat restoration, while deer collisions pose risks to road safety. Addressing this issue is crucial to mitigate financial losses and promote sustainable land management. 

 Invasive Fauna Management has experience running collaborative deer control programs with Central Coast Communities. In 2023, one of these programs saw several propety owners come together to participate in a program. 82 deer and 10 foxes were removed during the program, making a significant impact on reducing grazing pressure and fence damage for those invovled parties.

Feral deer populations have the potential to double in size every three years if left unchecked. With a single doe capable of producing 1-2 fawns annually, the exponential growth is staggering.

 Feral deer in NSW cause ecosystem damage through habitat destruction, disease transfer, soil erosion, altered seed dispersal, changes in nutrient cycling, waterway contamination, and browsing pressure. These impacts can harm biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and ecosystem services. Effective management is crucial to mitigate these consequences and promote ecosystem restoration. 

IFM has significant experience conducting deer control on small acreages to larger commercial farms, including across multiple properties. We use GPS tracking to log our movement, record our activity and report this back to the client.

We operate on foot, in the air and all terrain vehicles to access all parts of properties to remove feral deer.