While the Australian Deer Association has had some massive wins over the last few years including maintaining the game status of wild deer in Victoria, delivering our alpine hut pilot program, contributing to the creation of Outdoor Recreation Victoria, unlocking access to both the Snowy River and Errinundra National Parks, as well as securing additional public land opportunities in Tasmania, one that truly makes me smile, and carries deep personal meaning, is our latest advocacy success.
That is, having our Victorian Budget bid accepted to direct the Department of Agriculture to undertake the necessary work to enable the processing of wild-shot meat through licensed butchers.
I can’t help but reflect on an ADA meeting back in the early 2000s, where long-time member Col Mintern, having recently returned from a hunting trip to the United States, introduced us to the concept of “Hunters for the Hungry.” It was a simple but powerful idea; hunters donating harvested venison to help feed those less fortunate. It immediately resonated with everyone in the room, as it has with nearly everyone who has heard it since. Over the years, many of our members have championed that vision in their own way, recognising both its social value and its alignment with responsible hunting.
This aspiration was also reflected in successive Sustainable Hunting Action Plans, in which we, as an industry, have steadily worked to improve access to processing pathways. While progress has been made, we have long acknowledged that the system has remained well short of where it needs to be to truly unlock these opportunities at scale.
This latest advocacy win represents a significant step forward.
It brings us materially closer to making initiatives like Hunters for the Hungry not just a dream, but practical and sustainable. More broadly, it lays the groundwork for a meaningful boost for recreational deer hunting, improving its economic contribution, strengthening regional communities, and reinforcing the value and status of wild deer as a legitimate and respected resource in Australia.
The introduction of a dual-licensed butcher able to process wild-shot game could create an entirely new micro-industry, as already exists in New Zealand. One that is likely to emerge and grow in regional and suburban centres frequented by deer hunters, generating local jobs, supporting small businesses and, importantly, ensuring that more average Australians have more regular access to high-quality, sustainable venison.
Importantly, this reform does not exist in isolation. It establishes a practical and proven pathway for other Australian states to follow. Given the broadly consistent legislative frameworks and food standards across the country, a successful model in Victoria significantly lowers the barriers for adoption Australia-wide. In this way, what starts as a state-based reform has the potential to deliver a coordinated national benefit, creating consistency, improving utilisation of harvested game, and strengthening the role of hunters in contributing to both conservation and community outcomes. States such as New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania are all prime candidates to follow.
A long-term, sustainable policy outcome such as this is instrumental in maturing and raising the national conversation around wild deer management. It highlights the role that evidence-based advocacy, collaboration, and persistence can play in achieving balanced outcomes that benefit hunters, communities, and the environment alike. It also helps highlight viable alternatives to often expensive and wasteful helicopter and other culling programs that are all effective shot-to-rot programs that lack a social licence due to their disgusting amounts of waste.
Most importantly, it reflects the values of our great association and its proud members, practical, community-minded, and forward-looking.
As always, thank you for your continued support. Without it, achievements like these simply would not be possible, and the opportunities ahead would remain out of reach.
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