Fallow deer have been a problem in the past few years because they are not restrained to one area.

Around five years ago the deer were let loose from a property and since then numbers have increased.

Nothing has been done to reduce the deer population since they escaped and as a result it is not known the number of feral deer on local properties.

“Scientific opinion is that once you get a grown population established in the area it is pretty well impossible (to wipe them out), what you are looking for is control,” Myall Conservation Hunting Group coordinator Garry Staples said.

Numbers show that it is possible for an increase of 25 per cent annually to the deer population in the area.

The main problem for residents is the impact the deer have on their gardens and the trouble they cause motorists driving at dusk or early morning. Because the deer are mainly nocturnal it is impossible for residents to know how many of them are around.

The Myall Conservation Hunting Group is a volunteer based group of amateur hunters which has been established under the NSW State Government Gaming Council. The group has sought written permission from residents in the area to cull the deer on private properties.

Hunting on the properties will occur throughout the next couple of months as the official open season for fellow deer hunting started on Saturday, March 1.

By knowing the breeding cycle of the deer hunting seasons have been established, meaning hunting cannot occur when young are still dependant on their mothers.

“We lower the overall population density which then should reduce the incidents of depredation of gardens or motor vehicle accidents,” Mr Staples said.

Recently members of the group have been on each of the properties carrying out risk assessments to determine a safe way to proceed and movement patters of the deer.

The hunting is strictly controlled and the police are notified when and where the hunters will be at each time.

The group will be working on the properties around Pindimar Bundabah for the next couple of months to reduce the deer population and then will continue each year to keep the numbers from increasing.