Tasmanian farmers want to be allowed to commercially harvest feral deer on their properties.

Thousands of deer are killed each year by recreational hunters but it is illegal to sell their meat.

The Tasmanian Farmers and Graziers Association (TFGA) said empowering farmers to commercially harvest feral deer was a no-brainer.

Hunters do not support the proposal and want to see the resource protected for recreational use.

TFGA chief executive Jan Davis said feral deer were damaging crops and property.

"Feral deer are a browsing pest," she said.

"They cause considerable damage to crops in Tasmania, but most importantly they cause a lot of damage to fencing."

The Department of Primary Industries estimates there are up to 25,000 fallow deer in the state.

Australia's peak body for pest eradication the Vertebrate Pest Committee has said deer pose an extreme threat to agricultural production and the environment.

It has recommended deer should not be introduced or kept in any state or territory.

In Tasmania, feral deer are partially protected under legislation for recreational hunting, and farmers cannot harvest them commercially for meat.

Venison imported from interstate

Ms Davis said there was strong and growing demand for wild harvested deer meat in Tasmania which was currently being met by imported meat.

"We have about 1,000 kilograms - about a tonne a month - coming into the state from South Australia when we've got perfectly good product that's basically being left for dog food," she said.

The Government is being urged to review legislation that makes it illegal to sell wild harvest deer meat commercially. ( ABC News )

The TFGA wants the Government to review legislation that makes it illegal to sell wild harvested deer meat commercially.

"Our assessment is that there is a very strong value proposition for commercially harvested wild deer," Ms Davis said.

Tasmania's hunting fraternity is staunchly opposed to the idea.

Government licenses are issued for hunting, as well as tags for each deer shot.

Deer hunters not filling quotas

Tasmanian Deer Advisory Committee chairman Matthew Allen said as things stand, the high numbers of recreational hunters in Tasmania are not getting access to deer.

"Less than half the hunters are getting the opportunity now to fill their tags," he said.

The number of crop protection permits issued to farmers who want to reduce deer numbers has tripled in the last decade.

Deer hunters want feral deer kept as a recreational resource ( ABC News )

At the same time, the number of hunting licenses issued has roughly doubled.

Mr Allen said hunters were providing extra income to land holders.

"The resource is being used now, a lot of hunters are paying hundreds of dollars to hunt on these properties and doing game management for wallaby and possums at the same time," he said.

In Tasmania it is legal to harvest wild native animals like possum and wallaby for meat.

Mr Allen said there was no comparison because deer were hunted recreationally.

"There's a lot more possum and kangaroo in the environment and the deer are managed under sustainable hunting for recreational use," he said.

Ms Davis rejected the notion that a wild harvested deer meat industry and recreational hunting were mutually exclusive.

"There's no risk that commercial harvest of wild shot deer would displace the hunting activities that we value so highly as part of the suite of things that we do," she said.

Environment Minister Matthew Groom declined to be interviewed, but said in a statement he would not endorse a proposal that sows division between land managers and hunters.

He has urged the TFGA to work with hunting groups to get them on board with their proposal instead.