Deer Property Protection Permits

​​Fallow deer take permits

The Tasmanian wild fallow deer management plan is committed to provide landholders more flexibility to manage wild deer on their properties.  This has been delivered by the Plan implementation strategy which describes permits authorising the taking of deer in different management zones.  

Landholders can determine in which management zone their property is located by using LISTMap layers available at LISTmap - Land Information System Tasmania (thelist.tas.gov.au). ​

Upon determining the management zone of a property, landholders can apply for the desired take permit from those available to properties in that zone.  

​​Zone boundaries and deer take permits

Farming and forestry business units often include multiple cadastral parcels which may be adjacent or separated by land with different ownership.  Similarly, land is also regularly traded so business unit boundaries often change.  These factors mean that a farming or forestry business unit may be comprised of land in both zone one and two.

It is important that deer take conditions are administratively simple and easily understood by landholders, shooters and recreational hunters.

Landholders operating a business with land in both zones are therefore offered the option of nominating the deer management zone allocated to their whole business unit so as they receive one take permit with conditions that applies to their whole business.  Separate take permits with conditions appropriate to the deer management zone of the land are applied to land parcels owned by a business that are separated by more than 15km.  This means that a landholder with a small parcel of land in zone 3 cannot use it to enable the rest of the land operated by the business in zone 1 to be classified as zone 3.​

​​Zone 1 take permits 

Landholders managing businesses comprising land located in deer management zone 1 have the following three options for deer take permits.

​1. Apply to take deer with a Special Purposes Wildlife Permit with the following conditions:

  • ​Applicable to properties desiring to protect identified natural assets protected under legislation.  

  • ​​​The property to which the permit applies has a Property Based Wildlife Management Plan, or is engaging to develop one, prior to this permit being issued.​​

  • The permit will be issued for up to 12 months commencing on the date of issue.

  • All classes of deer can be taken any time during the permit period but male deer are required to be tagged when shot.

  • Take returns are required to be provided on expiry of the permit.​​

​​​​2. Apply to take deer using a property protection permit with the conditions that currently apply to such permits summarised as follows:

  • ​​Antlerless deer can be taken during the period 15 March to 15 November inclusive using a five year permit without quota or tagging requirements.

  • ​Adult male deer can be taken along with immature male deer using male deer permits from after the rut (1 May) until the day before the opening of the adult male deer season of the following year.

  • Adult male deer can also be taken during daylight hours only, using a Buck Season permit of up to five weeks duration during the adult male deer season. ​

  • ​Immature males can also be taken using an Immature Male deer permit during the rut (end of male deer hunting season to 1 May).

  • ​All male deer must be tagged when shot.​

  • Take returns are required to be submitted.

​3. Apply to take deer using an emergency property protection permit

  • This permit of up to four weeks duration allows deer to be managed to address impacts on stock, crops and infrastructure during periods when the particular class of deer causing such impacts cannot be taken using the traditional property protection permit.​

  • ​​​Damage being caused by the class of deer must be documented in the application for these permits.

  • Antlerless deer can be taken using a permit of up to four weeks duration during the period 16 November to 14 March without quota and tagging.

  • Adult male deer may be taken without restrictions on time of day during the adult male deer season. They cannot be taken during the rut.

  • Immature male deer may be taken using a permit of up to four weeks duration during the adult male season.​

  • All male deer taken under these permits must be tagged when shot.

  • Take returns are required to be submitted.

​Zone 2 and 3 ​take permits

Landholders managing businesses using land located in deer management zones 2 or 3 have the following two options regarding take permits.​

  1. ​Apply for a property protection permit as per option 2 above in zone 1, or;

  2. Apply for a property protection permit with the following conditions:​​​

  • ​The permit will be issued for up to 5 years commencing on the date issue.​
  • All classes of deer can be taken any time during the permit period without a quota or the need to tag carcases.
  • Take returns are required to be submitted. ​​

​​Property Based Wildlife Management Plans

In order for a zone 1 special purposes wildlife permit to be granted the applicant must provide a property-based wildlife management plan (PBWMP) or have commenced preparation of such a plan for the property for which this permit is requested.

The PBWMP can be a document already developed for the property or be a document of the applicants choice including an existing property based game management plan.

For more information visit Property Based Wildlife Management Plans.

​​Applying for a Permit

​​​Property Protection Permits and Special Purposes Wildlife Permits for deer in zone 1 are issued by Game Services Tasmania. Applications can be submitted via post, email or in person.  Contact details can be found at the bottom of this page.​​

 Deer Property Protection Permit Application (PDF 299Kb)


An application may take five to ten working days to be processed. An approved Permit will then be posted or emailed to the applicant. Permits with tags will be posted.

​​Recording Take

Permit holders are required to maintain an annual record of the wildlife taken under the permit, including that of their agent and any zero take.​​​​

​Reporting Take Returns

Take returns must be submitted to the Department within 28 days following the expiry of the permit. 

Further permits will not be issued to the owner or manager until the take details for any previous permits have been received.  Please note that a return must still be provided even if the take is zero or a renewal is not required. 

A copy of permits can be provided upon request where the original has been misplaced or lost to allow an owner or manager to submit their return information. 

Please note that permit returns assist in the management of wildlife and ensure that future permit requirements can be processed promptly. 

An owner or manager can update the information they provided when obtaining a permit by contacting the Wildlife Management Branch or Game Services Tasmania at any time during the permit period or via the permit return form.   

A property logbook can be provided on request to assist landholders to tally the take for various species. Please contact Game Services Tasmania for a logbook. 

​​Recording Tag Location

Property Protection Permits for fallow deer male (buck and immature male) and forester kangaroo are issued with tags allocated to the owner or manager, not the additional permit holders (hunters) operating under the permit.

It is recommended that the owner or manager keep a record of who they have allocated permit tags to and note the specific tag numbers. 

The legal obligations that govern Property Protection Permits can be found at Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulations 2021.​

​For more information on Property Protection Permits visit - Property Protection Permits

Contact

Game Services Tasmania

GPO Box 44,
HOBART, TAS, 7001.