Victoria's feral deer population is expanding rapidly and invading new areas.
The Victorian Deer Control Community Network Inc. (VDCCN) provides a state-wide forum to share information, experiences and collectively seek solutions to substantially reduce the impact and distribution of feral deer in Victoria.
$1.5 to 2.1 billion
Estimated cost to the Victorian economy over the next 30 years
Victorian DeeR Control Community Network
Feral deer are emerging as one of Australia’s most serious environmental and agricultural threats. Victoria has possibly the largest deer population in Australia, estimated to be over a million animals occupying 40% of the State. The feral deer population is expanding rapidly and invading new areas.
There are many organisations, institutions, businesses, groups and individuals in Victoria actively involved in feral deer control, research, campaigning or are directly impacted by feral deer. However, other than local networks, there is no statewide forum to share information, experiences and collectively seek solutions.
The Victorian Deer Control Community Network Inc. provides a platform for statewide collaboration over matters related to feral deer.
We are now encouraging people and organisations to join and contribute to the network, the only prerequisite is being interested in reducing the impact of feral deer. To become a member please download and read our Terms of Reference before filling in the application form.
The Invasive Species Council helped form the network and we are grateful to DEECA for funding for executive officer support as well as website resources for this community-driven initiative. The VDCCN Inc. is a member of, and fully insured through Landcare Victoria Inc.
Deer control information and resources
The VDCCN website contains a resource section that includes:
- research papers
- field guides
- survey reports
- reports
- Upcoming Events
The resource categories include:
- distribution
- impacts
- monitoring
- plans and strategies
- population dynamics
- species information
- tools and methods
Deer distribution timeline by species- 1922 – 2021.
We know deer were released in Victoria in the 1860’s and small confined populations persisted for decades. This map is based only on formal records of sightings documented since the 1920’s.
Hover over video and click fullscreen to enlarge.
Video provided by Alpine Environmental Science based on data from the the Arthur Rylah Institute
To assist landowners in managing deer on their land, the Victorian Deer Control Community Network (VDCCN) has developed this kit as a guide to provide the community with more information about feral deer and control options for a range of property types.
The high economic, environmental and social impacts of feral deer in Victoria
Peter Jacobs, previous Invasive Species Council Deer Project Officer (Victoria), discusses the high economic , environmental and social impacts that Feral Deer are having in Victoria.
Become a VDCCN Member
The Victorian Deer Control Community Network Inc. (VDCCN) provides a state-wide forum to share information, experiences and collectively seek solutions to substantially reduce the impact and distribution of feral deer in Victoria.
Featured News
The uncertainty around feral deer numbers in Victoria.
.In 2020, the Victorian Government stated that estimates of feral deer in Victoria reached up to, and potentially exceeding, 1 million. In 2023, it revised
Feral Deer Control Kit for Victoria Launched
Feral deer are becoming an increasing problem on private land impacting agricultural production, gardens and native biodiversity and increasingly a road safety risk.
To assist landowners to manage deer on their land, the Victorian Deer Control Community Network (VDCCN) has developed this kit as a guide to provide the community with more information about feral deer and control options for a range of property types.
Counting the doe; feral deer could cost Victoria over $2 billion
A new independent report from Frontier Economics warns that not controlling the impacts of feral deer in Victoria could cost the community between $1.5 billion and $2.2 billion over the next 30 years.
Peri Urban Deer Control Plan
DELWP has now released the Peri-urban Deer Control Plan 2021–26 to reduce the impact of deer across the peri-urban region east and north of Melbourne. The partnership group that helped prepare the plan contained a few VDCCN members. The Plan is constructed like a decision support tool to guide investment into on-ground action based on the greatest net benefit across multiple values and land tenure.
Alps Deer Control Trials
Alpine peatlands are a nationally threatened ecological community (as listed in the EPBC Act). As you can see from the photo below of a sambar deer wallowing in an alpine peatland, feral deer are a serious threat to these sensitive areas (along with feral horses). Imagine the time it will take for this sensitive area to recover from this devastation even if deer were removed now.
Survey of Landowners in North East Victoria
The Invasive Species Council is surveying people across Victoria to determine their views on the impact of feral deer, targeting landowners in particular. The survey ran recently for North East Victoria and will shortly expand to take in the whole of Victoria. The results will be used to better understand community attitudes about, and the impacts of, feral deer.
Upcoming Events
Grampians/Gariwerd Deer forum
A deer forum was held on 6 December 2025 at Halls Gap attended by about 80 people. A range of speakers covered topics from current
Central Victoria Community Deer Forum
The next VDCCN community deer forum is being held in partnership with Biolinks Alliance and Malmsbury District Landcare and supported by DEECA and Parks Victoria.
Cute but Costing us Deerly Campaign
The National Feral Deer Action Plan has been running “Cute but Costing us Deerly” campaigns to expand communications of the feral deer issue more broadly
Deer Exclusion Fencing Field Day
The Victorian Deer Control Community Network hosted a field day in November 2023 to demonstrate different approaches to fencing out deer. The field day visited
Annual General Meeting
Annual General Meeting (AGM) The AGM is an important meeting to report on the year’s activities to members and put in place the committee for