Deer Program Annual Report — 2025/26
A year of measurable results, growing participation and honest lessons from the Yarra Ranges Shire Council deer management program — supported by local Landcare groups.
This Year at a Glance
Yarra Ranges Shire-wide results for the 2025/26 financial year, alongside the contribution from our three local catchments — Steels Creek & Yarra Glen, Dixons Creek, and Chum Creek & Healesville.
By catchment
Steels Creek & Yarra Glen
Dixons Creek
Chum Creek & Healesville
What Keeps People in the Program
Consistency has been the biggest factor in building and maintaining trust. Years of working with the same experienced culler — rather than a rotating cast of operators — means participants know exactly who is on their land and what to expect.
Every visit is approved in advance. Participants know when the culler is coming, what area is being targeted, and how to reach them if plans change. A private WhatsApp group adds real-time visibility — notifications when the culler is in the area, and live updates on numbers culled — but it's a nice add-on, not the reason people stay. What actually keeps participants engaged is seeing consistent results over time, working with a professional and courteous Council-employed culler, backed by an annual feedback survey and report so their input visibly shapes the program.
- 100% of respondents to our July 2026 survey (20 responses) support the program's continuation and expansion
- Average rating for the culler's communication, professionalism and property treatment: 4.94 out of 5
The ongoing challenge is managing expectations — participants understandably want more frequent visits than the operational budget allows, and the culler covers such a wide area (including other councils) that not every property is visited every cycle.
Growth Through Proof, Not Persuasion
As neighbouring properties saw results, fence-sitters converted — organic clustering, not a recruitment campaign.
Steels Creek participation has grown to 30 properties — double the 15 that started in 2023 — now roughly a third of the local community, with many clusters of 3–5+ adjoining blocks on the program. Dixons Creek and Chum Creek have also seen participant growth over the same period, with Chum Creek notable for having maintained stable participation for considerably longer than the Yarra Ranges Shire-run program has existed.
"Would hate to think how many we would have in the area if it didn't exist. With the green drought this season, I've had many near misses on the road — feel it's the worst year I've ever experienced."
"Since the deer cull program began there has been a noticeable decline in the number of deer on our property."
"Need to keep it going. It's made a difference, but there are still deer that need to be managed for property protection and road safety."
"A great program that remains focused on minimising the environmental impact of feral animals — and being proactive in doing so. A reactive approach would come at a much higher overall cost, and the economic benefits to rural, residential and recreational stakeholders shouldn't be underestimated."
"We are unlikely to be able to harvest this year due to enormous impact of deer in early vine growth… We must find additional ways to control these pests."
"Fantastic program and much needed. Working together as a community is the only way to get on top of the problem. Having support and access to professional cullers is wonderful. Thank you!"
Not every interested property is in a strategic location — some would be isolated from the main clusters, so expansion has had to be selective to keep the program operationally efficient.
What We Learned This Year
The network effect is real, and worth explaining upfront. Removing deer from one property benefits properties within roughly a 15km radius. The 391 deer removed across the Yarra Ranges Shire in 2025/26 represent an estimated 4,700 kg of pasture and vegetation per day that wasn't consumed — around 1.7 million kg over a year, equivalent to about 130 semi-trailer loads of hay spared from grazing pressure. Participants are part of something bigger than their own boundary line.
Coverage is strategic, not neglect. The culler follows the deer, so not every property is visited every cycle. If your place hasn't had a visit recently, it hasn't been overlooked — it means deer pressure is currently higher elsewhere, and your property stays on the plan as a valuable reserve for when numbers rise in your area. Keeping properties on the program through the quiet periods is exactly what lets the team respond quickly when a local hotspot flares up.
Illegal shooting is a lagging indicator. Illegal shooter activity was rising before the program began, alongside record deer numbers. Three years of sustained, coordinated culling pressure has gradually reduced it — but it took time to see the benefit. There's a second effect worth naming: the program itself has made the community harder to operate in. With far more property owners now taking part, there are more people who know when a legitimate culler is in the area, who recognise activity that doesn't belong, and who know how to report it. That shared awareness — neighbours looking out for each other's places, and understanding what to do when something looks wrong — has become a real deterrent in its own right, alongside the reduction in the deer numbers that drew illegal shooters here in the first place.
Private hunter coordination remains a landscape-scale challenge. Independent hunters working the broader area — sometimes just days before the professional culler arrives — can deplete local deer numbers before they migrate back, fragmenting the effectiveness of coordinated effort. This isn't about any one landholder; it's a coordination issue across the whole catchment.
Budget pressure is a real delivery risk. Significant reductions in state grants to councils threaten the consistency needed to sustain meaningful annual reductions in herd numbers. Cost per head ($232.31 across the Shire in 2025/26) is driven by terrain, contractor rates, overhead allocation, property groupings and participant sighting reports — not just scale — so the Council and committee effort required to keep the program funded and running stays significant regardless of size.
Looking Ahead
Priorities for the coming year, based on what's worked and what we'd still like to improve.
- Keep coverage transparent. Continue clear, upfront communication about why some properties aren't visited every cycle, and maintain the waiting list of engaged landholders ready to be prioritised as deer numbers shift.
- Keep the WhatsApp updates going. For those who opt in, real-time visibility into culler activity and numbers taken remains a valued — if secondary — part of the participant experience. It stays entirely optional, and participants who'd rather not join don't miss out on the program itself.
- Run the annual feedback survey again. The feedback loop is core to why 95% of original participants are still engaged — don't skip it.
- Advocate for funding continuity. With state grants under pressure, continued advocacy to Council and funders is essential to sustaining the program's momentum into 2026/27.
- Educate new participants on the network effect early. Set expectations from day one that this is a landscape-scale effort, not a single-property service.
Resources & Further Reading
