news, local-news,

A DEER cull trial is set to continue in the Alpine region next week in a bid to control numbers of the invasive animals. Parks Victoria will use a contractor, as well as people from the Australian Deer Association and Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, from Thursday to Sunday. The firing will start in the late afternoon or early evening and continue after midnight, depending on the conditions. It comes as Member for Benambra Bill Tilley calls for strategies to ensure the growing population can be controlled. “I think the numbers there are extremely high,” he said. “And the lack of controls have enabled the deer population to grow to the numbers they have. “I think there needs to be proper controls put in place to keep the deer population in check.” Deer have recently caused issues for motorists in the Wodonga area as they seek out water in hot and dry weather. A motorbike rider and their passenger were hospitalised after hitting a deer on Tuesday. The crash occurred on the Kiewa Valley Highway at Baranduda. It followed similar crashes involving deer at Killara and near Beechworth. The animals have increasingly been encroaching on areas where they haven’t been seen before. Mr Tilley said he would be working with the government to address the issue. While the exact numbers are not known, there are estimated to be about a million deer in the region. “It’s certainly a work in progress,” Mr Tilley said. Next week’s shooting will occur in the Bogong High Plains, east of Falls Creek. The national park will remain open while the shooting is conducted. The trial is being undertaken to see if ground shooting can be used to mitigate the impact deer are having on the environment. Aerial shooting has also been undertaken from helicopters as part of another trial.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/u2TKvX7hYXGMrKgrD4ZiFN/ec4b134e-319c-407c-a2cd-11e000e9d79a.jpg/r5_117_1952_1217_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg