Priority Outcomes for Deer Control

Introduction

This section sets out the high level outcomes to which deer control contributes and outlines the approach the department will take to achieving these outcomes.

Biosecurity

The Biosecurity outcome for deer control is:

The feral range of deer, or species of deer, should not be allowed to expand into new areas, including deer-free regions, catchments and islands, and where possible the existing feral range should be reduced.

Strategic direction

Actions to prevent deer establishing in new areas and to reduce the current feral range of deer should be taken where feasible and practical and where the long-term threat justifies the cost.

Control plans

Priority will be given to developing and implementing control plans for areas that have been historically free of deer such as Northland and Taranaki and to containing range expansion of deer species (for eg. keeping the South Island free of sika deer).

RPMSs

The department will encourage regional councils to include deer in Regional Pest Management Strategies, particularly in those regions that include areas that have historically been free of deer.

Deer farms

The department will work with deer farmers to reduce the risk of farmed deer escaping and forming new wild populations. New regulated and non-regulated areas for deer farming and associated fencing standards will be gazetted following consultation. No changes are currently planned to areas where farming of deer is generally prohibited, or to requirements relating to holding deer in safari parks.

Illegal releases

The department will take active measures to raise awareness of the serious problem of illegal releases of deer and, where appropriate, increase enforcement actions in cooperation with regional councils and the Animal Health Board.

Biodiversity

The Biodiversity outcome relating to deer is:

Natural habitats and ecosystems will be maintained in, or restored to, an indigenous natural character, through effective control of deer and other threats.

Strategic direction

Deer control will be undertaken where this is the most cost-effective way to achieve priority outcomes for places or values managed by the Department. Priority outcomes will be determined using a range of tools. The Department is currently developing improved and integrated decision-support systems that will contribute to the setting of outcomes, identification of priorities, and identification of cost-effective mechanisms.

Priority outcomes

At the national level, priority will be given to:

• maintaining and restoring a representative range of natural habitats and ecosystems and maintaining and restoring outstanding habitats and ecosystems;
• preventing irreversible structural or compositional deterioration of representative and outstanding areas; and
• preventing irreversible loss of genetic variability within indigenous species.

Decision-making

In making decisions on deer control a range of factors will need to be considered, including:

• the conservation value of the site
• the threat posed by deer to these conservation values
• the cost, feasibility, efficacy and urgency of control actions
• integration with other weed and animal pest control work
• synergies with other management actions such as threatened species protection work.

Adaptive management

An adaptive management approach will be needed to allow control to be varied in response to the observed effects of management.

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