In 1980, there were about 50,000 feral deer in Australia and by 2002 the population was estimated to have grown to 200,000. Now, the population is likely to have reached more than 2 million.
Saying it’ll be the “next rabbit” etc.
Knew we had them, never knew they were becoming such a huge pest.
I say this without context, but this just sounds absurd. They’re an invasive and destructive species, right? To sustain native wildlife, we don’t want to sustain the deer population.
Regulatory Capture.
The government didn’t want to be in charge of this, so they’ve offloaded the responsibility (and the power) to a private organisation, in this case the Game Management Authority.
The GMA aren’t all bad, they are also a primary driver behind the protection of native waterways (that just coincidentally happen to be duck shooting spots).
As a shooter, I have complex opinions about groups like the GMA and SSAA that theoretically exist for my benefit.
I stopped giving SSAA any of my money. I don’t agree with most of their political lobbying stances, especially for reducing requirements around accessing firearms and legalising higher rate of fire guns.
Hasn’t been any great loss.