Push to control Nerang deer threat
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2011/04/07/306045_gold-coast-news.html
NERANG’S deer problem needs to be controlled now before it becomes an even bigger problem, an urban ecologist warns.
Griffith University’s Darryl Jones specialises in wildlife management in urban areas and said much of the deer population problems in southeast Queensland were caused by the collapse of the velvet and deer meat market.
”Hobby deer farmers who weren’t making money any more simply opened the gate and let the deer go,” he said.
”Deer are turning up in places they should not be and are doing large amounts of damage to the environment.”
Mr Jones said although it was easy to say ”something needs to be done” it was not as simple as culling deer in residential areas.”You need a long-term perspective and co-operation between landowners and authorities to make something work,” he said.
One way to curb the deer population in Nerang, he said, could be to set up a paddock with grain or something that would attract the deer each night.
”It could take a couple of weeks for the deer to get used to walking through the gate and eating there each night, but once that happens you can go out one night and shut the gate,” he said. ”The deer can then either be humanely killed for meat or relocated somewhere out of the area.”
Without natural predators and the availability of young trees and plants in residential areas, Prof Jones said the deer could grow to larger than normal sizes.
A council spokeswoman said Gold Coast City Council had no jurisdiction to manage declared pests on State Government or privately owned land.
”Several years ago the council requested permission from the State Government to reduce the feral deer numbers on its behalf this request was subsequently denied,” she said.
”A community-led approach to catch and relocate the deer on private property needs the support of all residents in the street.”
The Department of Environment and Resource Management did not respond to Sun inquiries before going to print.
No comments:
Post a Comment