Ms O’CONNOR – Thank you I have one more question Madam Chair and it relates to the dear cull in the tuar so the media reports indicate that about 711 dears have been shot to far in the information that went out from parks prior to that eradication exercise, it said, ‘current estimates indicate that there may be between 100 and 300 deer within the project area’, so the number shot is at least twice the previously estimated maximum population. What plans does the Government have to more accurately monitor deer numbers in the area in the future and prevent reinvasion from outside the TWWHA where deer, as we know, are a protected species?
Mr JAENSCH – They are a managed population. You are quite right, Ms O’Connor, and this was brought to my attention when I was briefed on this, that once you get up into those remote and difficult to access areas, previous experience in other jurisdictions has shown they have found that their previous estimates of feral animal populations are underestimated. So, 711 were culled in this first year of the program. I understand that this is a pilot or a demonstration proof of concept for the range of technologies and training that have been deployed. The intent would be that there is a second season, I understand, at least; but this would be then a foundation for an ongoing control program that aims to prevent re-incursion from surrounding areas into these parts of the TWWHA.
Mr JACOBI – This one of the most exciting programs we have conducted in Parks in pest control work – and I do refer to it as pest control work, because in the TWWHA they are a pest.
Ms O’CONNOR – They are a pest in Tasmania.
Mr JACOBI – It is the largest control program that has been conducted by the Parks and Wildlife Service since the Macquarie Island pest control program. The data that was collected over the course of this first round of the pilot has provided us with great intelligence and accuracy about the location of clusters and individuals across the Central Plateau Conservation Area, but also the Walls of Jerusalem. Fortunately, the numbers as you move further west into the TWWHA became less. The majority of the deer are in the eastern sections. All the data that has been collected will be very informative for the second round, which is programmed for May 2024.
