Feral pig and deer populations have spiked in parts of Southland. DOC, the Animal Health Board and Southland Regional Council say the animals are also being been found in areas outside of their typical territories.

Environment Southland Bio Security Manager Richard Bowman says wild pigs and deer can carry disease and damage farm property as well as native flora and fauna.

“They will come through fences, they’ll get into paddocks, they’ll dig up paddocks, they’ve been reported to attack young lambs, during the lambing period and a lot of farmers see them as a nuisance so they don’t really want them around.

“Feral deer are generally considered not quite such a nuisance but they can cause problems when they start to build up numbers because if you’ve got native bush and reserves, deer living in this will do some damage.

“Farmer’s don’t like having feral deer around farm deer because of the risk of TB.”

Richard Bowman is concerned  that hunters are illegally transporting pigs and deer to new areas  and letting them loose.

“Pigs are turning up in places where they are not normally found or new places where new populations are turning up.

“There is suspicion that people are taking them from areas where they are found and putting them into areas where they are not commonly found for private hunting purposes.” 

Richard Bowman warns that penalties for illegally releasing animals are severe.

“If they were caught then they could be up for some very serious fines not only under the Bio-security act but also under the wild animal control act.

“I think people need to be aware that what they are doing is illegal they are effectively causing someone else a problem and if you are caught you could be in serious trouble.”