Aussie tourist town on high alert for 'nightmare' invasive pest: 'Spilling over the border'
On Tuesday, the Byron Shire Council revealed there had been an increase in feral deer sightings in nearby areas.
One of Australia’s most popular tourist towns is on edge as the country’s “worst emerging pest species” continues to creep into nearby areas. While the rapid spread of feral deer is a well-known problem, it is feared the destructive animal may set its sights on a new home — the idyllic Byron Shire.
NSW’s Northern Rivers is one of the few areas where feral deer have yet to become established, however the number of pests are continuing to swell to its south and north across the border in Queensland.
On Tuesday, the Byron Shire Council revealed there had been an increase in sightings in the northern NSW region and it is working with neighbouring councils to raise resident awareness of the problem. “Feral deer are such a problem in other parts of NSW and Australia. They cause massive environmental damage and pose a threat to agricultural land,” Claudia Caliari, the council’s Biodiversity Projects Officer, said in a statement.
“They are also big animals, travelling in herds, and are so dangerous to drivers so we really need to work together to make sure we keep them out of this area. The ecology, behaviour, size, and impact of feral deer make their management a nightmare.”
Feral deer in Queensland spilling over NSW border
Queensland’s “significant” feral deer population is likely to blame for the new threat, Invasive Species Council Advocacy Manager Reece Pianta told Yahoo News Australia on Wednesday.
“A key problem is that we don’t have a strong handle on the size of the deer problem, the number of deer that there are in South East Queensland, and a lot of these are spilling over the border because the deer doesn’t know whether it’s in the Gold Coast or Tweed Shire or NSW or Queensland,” he said.
“So it’s a cross-border problem and we think that there needs to be a greater emphasis from the Queensland government on coordinating and managing the deer problem on the northern side of the border to stop it spreading, and stop the growth of deer numbers into northern NSW.”
Last week, the Gold Coast City Council increased its deer control budget to $300,000 amid fears it’s facing an explosion of pests.
Pests reduce water quality, carry diseases, pose road threat
Mr Pianta said the kinds of deer that are spreading from Queensland — which can weigh hundreds of kilograms — cause an array of issues.
“They reduce the water quality in creeks and wetlands,” he said, explaining they often submerge themselves in bodies of water to cool off, therefore degrading them.
“They’ll go through an area in dry weather and essentially graze on all the grasses, shrubs and trees that they can get, which takes away food that kangaroo and wallaby populations usually will try and survive on,” he added.
“They damage fences. They are a problem for motorists, causing collisions on roads — sometimes they can be life-threatening collisions because some of the deer we have in Australia are very, very big deer, and they can spread disease and parasites to agricultural livestock.”
In an attempt to save its lush environment, the Byron Shire Council is hosting a workshop to educate residents on the signs of deer activity and how to report sightings.
In most states and territories, deer are a protected species, so culling them has not been an option. However, NSW changed its regulations in 2015 to allow for deer to be hunted on private land while controlled government-led programmes have been introduced to help maintain the growing populations in open areas.
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