animals were introduced, but by 1977 there were about 40 individuals on the Island.
Hunting began in 1985, and the population was quickly reduced to 12 later that year.
While the Island was managed as a prison, the Fallow Deer were regularly culled for
sport and to provide meat, but since the facility has been managed as a museum and
World Heritage Site (since 1996) the population has expanded significantly. A
concerted culling and translocation operation in 2009 removed over 280 animals,
and about 30–50 remained. In the ensuing years this population rebounded to over
300 animals by 2017 which prompted a renewed culling operation (C. Wilke pers.
comm.) with the aim of eradicating Fallow Deer from the Island.
While there was initially some public opposition to control of Fallow Deer,
monitoring by officers of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
and the condition of the deer on the island have added support for the project from an
ethical perspective. Dama dama that have died on the island have been found to have
ingested large amounts of waste plastic that has been deposited on the island from
the ocean; this has resulted in the deaths of a number of deer, particularly adult
females. Analysis of stomach contents of 255 deer culled since 2017 have shown
that 37% of the population has ingested plastic (C. Wilke pers. comm.).
22.10 Synthesis
Invasive alien animal control projects are responses to complex problems that often
defy simple, linear solutions (i.e. wicked problems—Woodford et al. 2016). In
addition, the proposed solutions themselves, such as the projects described here,
often become wickedly difficult to implement and are themselves subject to change
as implementation takes place. This is a widely acknowledged problem in conservation practice, where large spatial scales, stakeholder diversity and multi-faceted
contexts combine to confound solutions (Game et al. 2014). There is no right answer
to many conservation problems, and one actor’s optimal solution may be completely
unacceptable or simply non-optimal to another actor, and the “multitude of
conflicting perspectives, objectives, and management goals can make the problem
almost impossible to characterise, let alone solve, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders” (Woodford et al. 2016). The acceptability of trade-offs such as animal
welfare concerns is also sensitive to value systems, interests and cultural contexts, as
shown in several of the projects described here.
22.10.1 Species Which Are Not Yet Under Adequate Control
Over 80 animal taxa (including some groups of hybrids) are listed as Category 1a or
1b in NEM:BA, thus placing an obligation on landowners to eradicate or control
them, but only 28 have been or are currently controlled (Table 22.1). Much further
action will be necessary to ensure that more of the Category 1 species are adequately
652
S. J. Davies et al.
Hunting began in 1985, and the population was quickly reduced to 12 later that year.
While the Island was managed as a prison, the Fallow Deer were regularly culled for
sport and to provide meat, but since the facility has been managed as a museum and
World Heritage Site (since 1996) the population has expanded significantly. A
concerted culling and translocation operation in 2009 removed over 280 animals,
and about 30–50 remained. In the ensuing years this population rebounded to over
300 animals by 2017 which prompted a renewed culling operation (C. Wilke pers.
comm.) with the aim of eradicating Fallow Deer from the Island.
While there was initially some public opposition to control of Fallow Deer,
monitoring by officers of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)
and the condition of the deer on the island have added support for the project from an
ethical perspective. Dama dama that have died on the island have been found to have
ingested large amounts of waste plastic that has been deposited on the island from
the ocean; this has resulted in the deaths of a number of deer, particularly adult
females. Analysis of stomach contents of 255 deer culled since 2017 have shown
that 37% of the population has ingested plastic (C. Wilke pers. comm.).
22.10 Synthesis
Invasive alien animal control projects are responses to complex problems that often
defy simple, linear solutions (i.e. wicked problems—Woodford et al. 2016). In
addition, the proposed solutions themselves, such as the projects described here,
often become wickedly difficult to implement and are themselves subject to change
as implementation takes place. This is a widely acknowledged problem in conservation practice, where large spatial scales, stakeholder diversity and multi-faceted
contexts combine to confound solutions (Game et al. 2014). There is no right answer
to many conservation problems, and one actor’s optimal solution may be completely
unacceptable or simply non-optimal to another actor, and the “multitude of
conflicting perspectives, objectives, and management goals can make the problem
almost impossible to characterise, let alone solve, to the satisfaction of all stakeholders” (Woodford et al. 2016). The acceptability of trade-offs such as animal
welfare concerns is also sensitive to value systems, interests and cultural contexts, as
shown in several of the projects described here.
22.10.1 Species Which Are Not Yet Under Adequate Control
Over 80 animal taxa (including some groups of hybrids) are listed as Category 1a or
1b in NEM:BA, thus placing an obligation on landowners to eradicate or control
them, but only 28 have been or are currently controlled (Table 22.1). Much further
action will be necessary to ensure that more of the Category 1 species are adequately
652
S. J. Davies et al.