2024 SHOT EXPO

This marked the Expo's return after a five-year absence, with the last one held in 2019. Since then, we have had the COVID-19 Pandemic and the successful Wild Deer Expo in 2023. It was a fantastic opportunity for the industry to showcase their wares and engage with the community after such an absence.

The Australian Deer Association attended and had a stand manned with staff and volunteers on both days. Thank you to Peter Addicoat, Tom Ellis, Cass Fleming, Mick Lehne, Steve Robinson, Trent Wade, board members Col Brumley and David McNabb, and Life Member John Mumford, who all joined Paul Gray and Sean Kilkenny on the stand to engage with new and old members from across the country.

During the weekend, we spoke to scores of members from far and wide, including members who had travelled from New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland, the ACT, and regional Victoria. The stand was constantly packed, and it was impossible to walk around the venue without running into ADA members, many of whom had their ADA-branded Stoney Creek merchandise on.

Thank you to all who swung past and said hello, and welcome to the new member who joined at the expo.

John Mason sent in this pic of the magnificent 7x7 red deer he shot in the high country of southeast Queensland earlier this year. It was shot at 120m with his Sako Classic in 300 Win Mag.

Well done, John!

Young Riley spotted this sambar stag crossing out of the bush one afternoon with his Dad (Nick) by his side, who harvested the stag with a 130m shot.

The freezer is now full, with all of the animal being utilised.

Great stag, great pic, and father-son experience.

Chris Adney from the ADA’s Hunter Valley Branch sent in some trail cam pics from the Hunter Valley. Red deer, sambar and fallow all from the same camera.

Who would want to live anywhere else?

In 2019, the Tasmanian Government undertook a baseline survey to estimate wild fallow deer abundance and distribution.

The 2019 baseline survey, a significant undertaking by the Tasmanian Government, was crucial in bridging the knowledge gap on fallow deer in Tasmania. Its findings will be instrumental in enabling an evidence-based approach to their management.

In October 2024, a follow-up survey will be conducted using the same methodology as the 2019 survey and will model the estimate wild fallow deer abundance and distribution in Tasmania.

As is often the case regarding wild deer management in Australia, decisions are made in the absence of a body of supporting evidence. This underscores the importance of an evidence-based approach, as the simple and primitive narrative of wild deer being “non-native” is the basis of policy and management programs, regardless of the cost or efficiency.

The survey area is approximately 26,000 km2 and includes Tasmanian Wilderness Heritage Area Deer Control Project areas.

The 2019 survey concluded that only 53,660 wild deer were in central and north-eastern Tasmania. This result decisively debunked the false claims of others who wrongly suggested there could be up to 100,000 wild deer in Tasmania, which could grow to 1 million by 2050. This accurate data provides a solid foundation for future management decisions.

Such aerial surveys don’t need to be repeated annually; they can best be conducted every 4-5 years, with appropriate ground surveys undertaken annually. Further improvements to ground surveys, such as distance sampling and thermal imagining, can further improve their accuracy, with aerial surveys providing a means of calibrating ground data.

While others will continue to ignore science in their ideological pursuits, the Australian Deer Association is unwavering in its commitment to advocating for an evidence-based approach to wild deer policy and management. This also extends to helping fill knowledge gaps relating to wild deer and their ecological role within the Australian landscape.

Surveys from the October 2024 flights are expected in the second quarter of 2025.

On a recent backpack hunt behind the gates, Rob Cumming had some up-close encounters that allowed him to take some fantastic photos.

Editor of Australian Deer, Martin Auldist, and his wife Danielle, recently took a trip to check out Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana, USA. The wildlife and scenery was everything they had hoped for, with bison, elk, coyotes, black bear, pronghorn antelope and mule deer being spotted.

Martin also managed to harvest a great pronghorn antelope on a 3-day hunt with SNS Outfitters just outside of Casper, Wyoming…but that’s another story.