• Oh deer, what can the matter be Landholder attitudes to deer management in Queensland (pdf)

Deer hunters are committed todeer conservation, management and research. This commitment is reflected in the fact that the great proportion of the Association's funds and energy is redirected towards understanding and conserving wild deer and their environment.

The following examples give a clear indication of this commitment.

• In 2005 the Queensland State Branch of the ADA contracted the Queensland University to survey of the attitudes of landowners towards wild deer and to produce the report "Oh Deer What can the matter be"
• The ADA maintains a listing of deer antlers taken in Australia. This listing currently contains almost 2000 entries and is the largest such register in Australasia.
• The Australian Deer Research Foundation Ltd. was established by the ADA to raise funds to sponsor management and research into the deer of Australia. In particular, the Foundation sponsors research into the biology and ecology of deer in Australia to establish:
  • the effect of the Australian environment upon the introduced species of deer,
  • the relationship of deer to and the impact of deer upon native flora and fauna, and,
  • the management techniques most appropriate to deer in Australia.
• Red deer and hog deer habitat in Queensland and Victoria respectively were mapped using funds provided by the National Sports Development Fund under the supervision of the Game Management Consultant. Fifteen page reports were published from both of these projects. A fallow deer rehabilitation project in the south-east of South Australia was similarly managed and funded.
• The Forest Deer Project in Victoria arose from the Game Management Consultancy. This project involved co-operation between the ADA and the then Forests Commission of Victoria and brought hunters and foresters together in a joint effort toimprove our understanding of sambar deer ecology. A 190 page report was published from this work.
• The Bunyip Sambar Project, which is a practical attempt to establish management strategies for the large sambar population in Victoria, has been funded by the Victorian State Executive of the ADA.
• The Victorian State Executive has funded an annual survey of sambar hunting success since 1977. This survey is being used tomonitor sambar numbers and hunting success. Annual reports have been published in Australian Deer and a comprehensive review was published in 1991.
• A PhD study of fallow deer and their impact in a farming environment is at present being conducted in South Australia, with much of the funding being provided by the South Australian State Executive of ADA.
• The Blond Bay Hog Deer Project is managed by the hunting organisations in conjunction with the Victorian Department of Conservation and Environment. This is a self-funding hog deer conservation project that will alsobenefit other wildlife species. A draft management plan has been published and a number of reports have been printed in Australian Deer on this project.
• In 1990, the Tasmanian Branch of ADA sponsored a visit by an American Wildlife Biologist todiscuss deer managment options with hunters, landowners and wildlife authorities with a view to improving hunting opportunities in their State.