If you want to farm fallow deer, or hold fallow deer behind wire, whether for commercial or hobby purposes, then you will need a Deer Farm licence.
A Deer Farm Licence is issued under Regulation 5 of the Nature Conservation (Deer Farming) Regulations 2022 (Regulations) and authorises the holder to operate a deer farm for a period of up to five years subject to certain conditions. The Regulations can be accessed at the Tasmanian Legislation website.
Note that a Deer Farm Licence does not authorise the ‘take’ of fallow deer from the wild.
The Frequently Asked Questions below provide understanding of Deer Farm Licences and the Nature Conservation (Deer Farming) Regulations 2022.
Q. What will a Deer Farm Licence cost?
Deer Farm Licences are issued free of charge.
Q. Can a licence be cancelled or suspended?
Yes. New Deer Farm Licences may only be granted if the Secretary NRE Tas is satisfied that a deer farm is unlikely to cause a threat to the environment, community, or property of another person.
They can be cancelled or suspended where the requirements of the licence are not met.
Q. What can I do if my Deer Farm Licence is refused, suspended or cancelled?
You can apply to the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) for a review of a decision to refuse, suspend or cancel a Deer Farm Licence. Further details are available on TASCAT’s website.
Q. Do I still need to have handling facilities if I manage the health and welfare of my deer by shooting?
The regulations allow for handling facilities to be required as a condition of a Deer Farm Licence when necessary to ensure the health and welfare of those animals that are being farmed. The Secretary has discretion in relation to requiring handling facilities when satisfied those alternative methods exist to manage the health and welfare of the deer.
Q. What are some of the requirements outlined in the regulations?
An important component of the regulations is the introduction of a Deer Farm Licence system to ensure that fences are maintained to prevent deer escaping. Compliance requirements have been introduced on handling facilities and tagging.
Q. Will all deer need to be tagged under the licence?
The regulations require deer farmers, unless exempted, to mark or tag deer and keep records to establish ownership of all deer on their farm. This will ensure deer found in non-traditional and peri urban areas can be identified. Exemptions to mark or tag will not be given to farms in Deer Management Zones 2 and 3.
Q. Do I have to ‘deface’ the value of trophy stags with ear tags in order to satisfy marking/tagging requirements?
The regulations will not mandate every deer farmer to mark their farm deer but, if required as a condition of a licence, the method of marking will be determined by the Secretary NRE Tas. Methods that do not deface the ‘trophy’ value of a deer head may be approved. The Secretary has discretion as to what method of marking is used and alternatives exist that involve use of internal tags.
Q. How can farm deer be disposed of?
To restrict the unlawful release of farm deer into the wild, the new regulations require that farm deer may only be disposed of to another deer farmer or a meat processor.
Q. Why is it important that farm deer do not escape?
Fallow deer, unlike domestic stock such as cattle and sheep, are not domesticated, and farm deer once outside of the farm quickly revert to a wild existence. For this reason, fallow deer cannot be regulated in the same manner as domestic stock.
Q. How were stakeholders engaged in the development of the regulations?
The regulations were developed through significant consultation involving direct mail, information to deer farmers, personal discussions with individual farmers and members of the Tasmanian Deer Farmers Council.
Q. What else is the government doing to manage deer across the state?
The first Tasmanian Wild Fallow Deer Management Plan was released on 27 February 2022. The Plan sets out the Government’s policy positions on deer management until 2027 The Plan recognises abundance and geographic distribution of wild fallow deer are increasing along with the impact the species is having on agriculture, forestry, natural values and urban amenity. The Plan is being implemented through a range of initiatives based on the aims of management in each of three Deer Management Zones. The zones are shown on the LISTmap.
Q. How do the deer farming regulations fit into the Wild Fallow Deer Management Plan?
The deer farming regulations support the management policies articulated in the Deer Management Plan by requiring farm deer, unless exempted, to be tagged or marked to establish ownership and to require that a proposed deer farm does not pose an unreasonable threat to the environment, the community and the property of other persons.
Under the Regulations farmed fallow deer are regarded as those deer farmed for both commercial (meat and antler products) and non commercial (hobby farms) purposes.
New Applications
The Application for a Deer Farm Licence form is to be completed by an applicant who intends to hold fallow deer behind wire. This form has been prepared to facilitate the application process. Information required includes the site of the deer farm, fencing detail and proposed stock numbers.
Application for a Deer Farm Licence (PDF 250Kb)
The form should be completed and the proposed deer farm site and fencing plans assessed by Game Services Tasmania. Applicants should NOT build deer farm fences prior to their application being approved. Note that assessment of applications will take into account the deer management zone, in which the proposed deer farm occurs, as defined in the Tasmanian wild fallow deer management plan and the risk of establishing deer populations in zones where the aim is to manage down or eliminate their population.
Applications will NOT be approved for new deer farms in Deer Management Zones 2 and 3. Regulation 5(3) of the Nature Conservation (Deer Farming) Regulations 2022 requires that an application for a deer farm can only be granted if satisfied that the location and operation of the farm or proposed farm, to be operated under the licence is unlikely to cause a threat to the environment, the community or the property of another person (along with other matters as set out in Regulation 5(3).
Fallow Deer Farm Fencing Specification Guidelines
To help provide clarity as to the minimum fencing standard required, please refer to the Fencing Specification Guidelines:
Fencing Specification Guidelines (PDF 576Kb)
Other legislative requirements for deer farm operations such as record keeping, requirement to provide receipts on disposal of any deer or product of deer, escapes and releases of farmed deer into the wild and their recovery or destruction are included in the fact sheet.
Transfer or Cancellation of a Deer Farm
For those landowners who already have an approved deer farm but intend selling or closing the operation, please complete the Transfer-Surrender Deer Farm Licence Form:
Deer Farm Compliance Framework
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas) is the responsible department for the administration and compliance of the Nature Conservation (Deer Farming) Regulation 2022.
The Deer Farm Compliance Framework outlines how NRE Tas will regulate deer farm compliance and includes:
- monitoring and assessing compliance;
- supporting, assisting and directing actions to achieve compliance; and
- use of regulatory powers to correct non-compliance and hold to account those that do not comply with the law.
Deer Farm Compliance Framework - NRE Tas (PDF 310Kb)
Contacts
Anyone wishing to establish a Fallow Deer farm should contact Game Services Tasmania to obtain relevant advice prior to commencing operation.