03/07/2024

The Victorian government has issued a regulatory impact statement (RIS) outlining the proposed changes to the Wildlife (Game) Regulations, which will begin in September this year. 

Whilst these regulations apply to all game animals, some specific changes proposed impact recreational deer hunting, such as:

•    Phasing out lead ammunition,
•    Enabling the use of hand-held thermal devices during the day,
•    Increase the number of deer habitats,
•    Enable the GMA to request a hound be presented for inspection,
•    Artificial water points for hog deer on private land,
•    Deer Decoys,
•    Reasonable effort to dispatch struck deer,
•    Licence fees

While the Australian Deer Association (ADA) will provide a submission on the RIS, we highly value and encourage your personal input on these regulations. Your unique perspectives and experiences in recreational deer hunting can help shape the next set of regulations. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute; another opportunity may be as far away as ten years. You can do this by completing the survey or making a written submission of your own on the Engage Victoria website here.

The ADA has been working on the regulations since 2020 when we made a preliminary submission and advocated for them to be brought forward before the 2022 election cycle. However, since then, our industry has had significant disruptions, from political change to an existential crisis facing native bird hunting that had to be addressed first. While most of these challenges have been met, some remain; this will result in a second stage of regulatory changes in the near future that are expected to be focused on issues pertaining to native bird hunting, such as hunter education and training. Some of these directly result from the government’s response to the native bird hunting inquiry and require additional work to finalise what form these will take, as well as industry consultation. We are committed to continuing our work with the government on these issues to ensure recreational hunting remains accessible, equitable, and sustainable.

The ADA submission will be made public once it has been submitted.