Ten years ago deer were a novelty on the Peninsula. Today fallow deer are established through Red Hill, Main Ridge and the Arthurs Seat hinterland, with hog deer along the Westernport bush and red deer appearing around Flinders. Growers see the evidence most mornings: broken trellis wire, stripped shoots at budburst, trampled netting and rubbed posts in autumn.
In Victoria, deer are unprotected on private land. That means a landholder can control them, or authorise someone to, without a permit from the state. The shooter still needs a firearms licence endorsed for the work, a Game Licence from the Game Management Authority, and the landholder's written authority. Properties close to houses or roads also need the shooter to hold a Victoria Police Public Place Permit.
Deer move between bush cover and feed at dawn and dusk, so control works best along the bush boundary at those times rather than in the vineyard rows. We plan shot positions with clear backstops at a daytime assessment, use thermal spotting to find animals in cover, and remove or dress carcasses on site depending on what the grower wants.
Where a property has steady deer numbers and the owner is happy with regular visits, control can often be done free of charge in exchange for harvesting. For most vineyards the practical arrangement is a monthly program from budburst through veraison, when the damage is concentrated.
Fencing still matters. Deer-proof fencing on the bush side of a vineyard is expensive, but combined with regular control it is the only approach that keeps a block clean season after season.