Exemptions for domestic deer tagging
Owners of domestic deer have a right to apply for an exemption from ear tagging requirements.
Under section 192(4) of the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, a relevant authority may exempt a person from tagging a deer that is more than 12 months old, subject to conditions.
Guidelines are provided to help keepers of domestic deer and staff from landscape boards determine whether properties meet the standards for an exemption.
Risk assessment
Property owners must demonstrate that the risk of domestic deer escaping is mitigated through secure boundary fencing and managing other factors.
Staff from the regional landscape board will assign risk ratings to the answers provided in your exemption application. These factors are considered:
- your property fencing, gates, and security measures
- external risks
- the likelihood and potential impacts of your deer escaping.
The outcome of the risk assessment informs whether an exemption should be issued.
Exemption conditions
Exemption conditions
If an exemption is issued, the board may advise of conditions. These include, but are not limited to the following:
- Domestic deer held under tagging exemption must remain in the enclosure identified in the application form.
- A tagging exemption is issued to the domestic deer identified in the exemption and is not transferrable to other individual domestic deer. This is because additional domestic deer being brought onto the property must be tagged when they leave their original property and any deer born on the property can be tagged when they are young.
- Provide 24-hour notification to the regional landscape board if a domestic deer under tagging exemption is known to have escaped from the enclosure, and a follow up report outlining the cause and actions to prevent it happening again.
- Provide an annual report on number of domestic deer in the enclosure where the exempt domestic deer are held.
- Provide an annual report to the regional landscape board on the quality of the enclosure boundary fence.
- Undergo a 2-year review of the tagging exemption. The regional landscape board will complete an audit of the fence and review compliance to the exemption conditions. The domestic deer can be considered for a further 2-year exemption. If found to be non-compliant or failing to pass the fence audit, the exemption can be revoked and the owner will have 3 months to comply with the tagging requirement.
- The tagging exemption may be revoked at any time if the owner of the domestic deer fails to meet the conditions of the tagging exemption. The owner will have 3 months to comply with tagging.
The ear tagging exemption does not exempt the applicant from section 73 of the Livestock Regulations 2013 under the Livestock Act 1997. Untagged domestic deer over 12 months of age must not be removed from the land where they are kept.
Apply for an exemption
To keep untagged domestic deer over 12 months of age:
- Make sure that your property complies with the Control notice for domestic deer (). This outlines the minimum standards for enclosure boundary fencing and gates, which are required to keep domestic deer confined.
- Read and complete the Guidelines and application form for a deer tagging exemption ().
- Submit the application form to your regional landscape board through Landscape South Australia.
Your regional landscape board will inform you of their decision.
Contact
Dr Brad Page – Principal Biosecurity Officer, Pest Animals
Phone: (08) 8429 0803
Email: brad.page@sa.gov.au
