VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO THE WILDLIFE ACT 1975 REVIEW

NEWS

In 2020, the Victorian Government launched a review into the Wildlife Act 1975 and created an advisory panel to inform the review. The panel started with six members but finished with four after two panel members had left, including one with expertise in animal welfare.

Ultimately, the remaining panel delivered its final report to the government in late 2021. Since then, the government has considered the review before responding in October 2025.

The review was always going to provide an opportunity for ideologically driven organisations and politically aligned lobby groups to prosecute their anti-hunting agenda further, whether against wild deer or sustainable duck hunting.

Unfortunately, this did indeed turn out to be the case, with both the game status of wild deer and the framework for sustainable recreational duck hunting coming under attack.

This manifested in two recommendations made by the panel: one would see wild deer lose game status, and the second would change the conditions under which a sustainable duck season can be declared.

Fortunately, the government did not support these recommendations, as they were both unnecessary and contrary to existing sound policy positions.

Had wild deer have lost their game status, instantly over 50,000 recreational deer hunters would have lost access to hundreds of thousands of hectares of National Park that they have been safely enjoying for the best part of half a century, the Game Management Authority would have had a massive portion of their revenue disappear and face the likely outcome of being shut down, there would be no ability to conduct wild deer harvest estimates, and it would even make the economic surveys of hunters tricky to replicate. This would result in fewer wild deer being harvested and lower animal welfare standards.

The government’s announcement will now put to bed the argument around game status. Although those who dislike recreational hunting on public land will continue the argument, it now fails to hold water even more than it did before.

As always, the Australian Deer Association will continue to advocate for sound policies on wild deer management and fight to maintain public land access.