Nillumbik Deer Control Project

The Nillumbik Deer Control Project aims to reduce local deer numbers and interrupt their southward spread, to reduce their geographic range and impacts.

It builds upon:

• The work done in the project between December 2022 and June 2025 which removed 724 deer across the project area.
• The deer control work that many landholders across the Shire and the region are already undertaking.
• The outcomes of the Sugarloaf Link deer control project that Council ran between November 2019 and September 2021. In that project, 330 Sambar and 27 Red Deer were culled across 49 private properties and one Parks Victoria reserve.
• The outcomes of the Kangaroo Ground deer control project which Council ran in 2021. In that project, 62 Sambar were removed from private properties.
• The outcomes of the deer cull program that Melbourne Water operates at Sugarloaf Reservoir, which is seeking to eradicate Red Deer from that site.

Wild deer negatively affect biodiversity, water quality, public safety, agricultural assets and Aboriginal cultural heritage.  

For example:

• Biodiversity impacts: Deer are over-browsing and causing destruction of ground and mid-story vegetation, reducing the presence of native flora and thereby habitat for native fauna; destroying saplings and damaging mature trees; and damaging waterways with hard hooves and wallowing, causing erosion and reducing water quality.
• Agriculture impacts – Deer are competing with farmed stock for feed; damaging fences, tree crops, vines and shelterbelts; and altering water quality, causing erosion and compacting soils.
• Aboriginal Cultural Heritage impacts – Deer are causing the loss of plant species that are culturally important for medicine and food; and rubbing scar trees.
• Road safety impacts – Deer are becoming a high collision risk, particularly between dusk and dawn.

The Nillumbik Deer Control Project has a total project area comprising more than 10,000 hectares across the southern, western and northern reaches of the Shire, as shown below.

It is expected that deer control will be undertaken on up to 10 per cent of the project area.

The deer control will be targeted to multiple ‘sectors’ (groups of properties) within the project area where:

• safe shooting is possible
• multiple and neighbouring properties express interest
• productive shooting is possible (ie conditions indicate that many deer can be removed in an efficient manner)
• there is good access
• there is evidence of deer impact
• there is strategic benefit.

Having a large project area will enable the contractors to rotate between different ‘sectors’, enabling areas to be rested when necessary.

To date we have found that deer control is most successful on larger properties (or a group of neighbouring properties) with good access and with patchworks of bushland and grass, particularly where multiple adjoining properties have been participating. 

Council has engaged three highly experienced, licensed, professional deer control companies/contractors to plan and undertake the deer control works (ground-based deer shooting).

They are Abzeco, Sako and Victorian Pest Animal Control (VPAC).

They all carry Council-issued identification.

They all have operating procedures which prioritise safety.

Any landholder residing within the project area who is interested in having deer control undertaken on their property is invited to contact Council's (part-time) deer project officer via email at environment@nillumbik.vic.gov.au or call 9432 3111.

Additionally, Council and/or the contractors proactively reach out to some targeted properties, via mail and/or door knocking, inviting these landholders to participate in the project.

A property’s eligibility and priority for participating in the project is considered according to the criteria outlined above in ‘How we will determine where to target the deer control’. 

Note: we have had overwhelming interest from community members wanting to participate. We still welcome anyone who wants to get involved to get in contact and secure yourself in any future opportunities, however it may be some time before we are able to include your property in the current operations.

There are Terms and Conditions(PDF, 393KB) associated with involvement in the project, and a Landholder Agreement Form(PDF, 393KB) has to be completed and submitted.

Before any works take place on a property, one of our deer control contractors will have a discussion with the landholder about potential control works and carcass retrieval options that are suitable for the site, will usually visit the property, and will answer any questions you may have. They also review aerial photography and sometimes deploy a drone to obtain real-time information.

If you’re happy to proceed, the contractor will then prepare a Shoot Plan which specifies exactly where on the property they propose to work, and depicts where access points are, buildings and homes, key features, any hazards, shooting directions and no-go zones. 

This Shoot Plan is submitted to the local Victoria Police District Firearms Officer and has to be approved before works can proceed as part of this Project.

The contractor will also:

• discuss the likely pattern or frequency of deer control works
• ask how you would prefer to be communicated with during the course of the project
• provide you with a project Landholder Agreement form to sign (if you haven’t already)
• provide you with a GIC form to sign (unprotection of deer on private property)
• talk with your neighbours, and obtain their contact details so that they can be advised ahead of works, and maybe join the project. 

You can contact our Deer Project Officer by emailing environment@nillumbik.vic.gov.au or calling 9433 3111.

You can also register to be kept informed about the project via our deer project e-newsletter.

We have additional deer management and control information available on our website that you may find helpful.