Track the threat

Deer were sighted last week in the Middleton Creek area of the Diggings park. This feral species has now been seen in numbers in almost every corner of our region. Every credible community group, including farmers, municipalities and enviro organisations, has urged serious control measures against the exploding population: but, as we’ve reported, the State Government’s response to the menace has varied from the feeble to the supine. Its main agenda, on the face of it, seems to be to please the hunting lobby: a peculiar obsession, given that this particular lobby is generally hostile to the Labor Party.

If you’re interested in doing your bit to track the reality of this particular environmental problem, have a look at Feralscan. It offers ‘Many resources … to help you identify, monitor, or plan control of deer populations in your local area. View fact sheets, instructional videos, guides and strategies on best practice deer management. Use these resources as part of your coordinated control with your neighbours, local working groups, and biosecurity organisations.’ And it enables you to register any sightings you may have in your neighbourhood. Check out our 2019 post here–or go direct to the site at https://www.feralscan.org.au/deerscan/default.aspx

And: if you have the courage, you might want to read ‘The attack of the alien invaders’, an estimate of what feral species are costing the world, in dollar terms. It’s in ‘The Conversation’, today. You can find it here.

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