FERAL animals can cause havoc in farms, gardens and the wider environment.

Deer are an issue in our region with wild deer munching and trampling gardens, devastating farms and causing problems on our roads.

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DeerScan is a purpose-built community website and app for recording deer sightings, damage and control actions.

Members of the public can record sightings including information on the species of deer, observations or direct sightings, hoof prints, scats, deer calls, or camera photos.

The more information recorded, the more useful the deer mapping will become over time.

Trends in movement will start to emerge, which can be used to decide where control should be undertaken.

By recording the damage caused by deer, local authorities can become more informed about where and when problems are occurring.

This can help to guide local control programs.

Once activity is logged control activities can be implemented.

These may include the use of fences or acoustic deterrents, trapping and ground-based shooting.

Recording control activities can help you to keep a record of what methods have been used, and can help you to document how much effort is required to reduce the problems deer cause.

Pest animals typically live and/or move across the landscape where they can access suitable food and habitat.

Maps created through community contributions like DeerScan are therefore an essential planning tool for effective pest management.

Mat Bell, Senior Ecological Officer at MidCoast Council told News Of The Area, “Council understands that feral deer are expanding in distribution and abundance in the Port Stephens area.

“This is consistent with state-wide trends.

“Feral deer numbers across NSW are escalating and there has been substantial increase in deer abundance over the past ten years.

“Port Stephens contains populations of three species of feral deer, namely fallow deer, rusa deer and red deer.

“Increasing populations of feral deer increase the risks and impacts of this species on the community, the environment and agriculture.

“The community should be encouraged to report all sightings of feral deer via the Feral Scan App.

“This enables agencies to monitor changes in the frequency of sightings, understand new deer incursions and potentially evaluate the success of control programs,” he said.

Port Stephens Council is an active participant in the National Feral Deer Action Plan (NFDAP) and recently supported the NFDAP to trial a media campaign to build public awareness of the impacts of feral deer and to report sightings.

Council is actively encouraging the community to report any sightings of feral deer to the Deer Scan website or app at feralscan.org.au/deerscan/.

By Marian SAMPSON