History

In 1988 a permit was granted by the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture to Arbutus Bay Deer Farms to raise European fallow deer on Mayne Island. While it is unclear as to how many fallow deer were first brought to Mayne Island, by 1992 the herd had grown to 167 animals. In 1994 the first fallow deer was sighted outside the farm enclosure. Starting in 1996 there were more sightings of larger numbers of fallow deer outside of the farm. Attempts in 1996/1997 to capture the fallow deer were unsuccessful.

After a thirty day period these escaped domesticated animals were declared “wildlife” and were deemed to no longer be the responsibility of the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture nor the Province of British Columbia.

With no natural predators on the island the now free-ranging fallow deer population exploded. With the fallow deer numbers rapidly increasing many on Mayne Island began to notice the devastating effects that they were having on the environment.

The Problem

The ecological impact of the invasive fallow deer has been catastrophic. Fallow deer, unlike the native blacktail deer, are indiscriminate eaters. They will eat almost anything that is green.

As the fallow deer population increases, food sources have become harder to find and plants that have traditionally been shunned by deer are now being eaten. The result:

• The forest floor has become a desert as the native understory plants have been browsed to the ground.
• Ground nesting birds such as pheasant, grouse and quail are now extinct on the island.
• Native wildflowers are no longer found in open meadows or forests.
• Songbird populations are declining due to a loss of habitat.
• The loss of ground cover has led to a noticeable increase in soil erosion and flooding is common after our more frequently occurring major weather events as there is little in the way of vegetation to slow the flow of water.

The heavy over browsing by the fallow deer will be felt for generations to come.
The fallow deer eat virtually every new sapling that can gain a foothold in the soil. Fir, cedar and arbutus saplings are no longer found outside of fenced areas.

There will be an entire generation of trees that will be missing as there will be no new trees to replace the existing trees as the current forest cover dies off. The cascading ecological impact of the fallow deer on the forest is enormous.

Fallow deer pose a significant threat to agricultural and horticultural industries on Mayne Island. Their browsing behavior can damage crops, orchards, and gardens, leading to economic losses for farmers and horticulturists. The cost of implementing measures to protect agricultural lands from deer damage, such as fencing or deterrents, can also impact local businesses and increase production costs.

Fallow deer also pose a risk to motorists and cyclists on the island. Their presence increases the likelihood of vehicle collisions, resulting in damage to vehicles, potential injuries to drivers and passengers, and associated costs for insurance companies and vehicle repairs.

For now, the problem has been largely contained on Mayne Island but there have been fallow deer sightings on both Galiano and Saturna islands.

The Solution

We believe that the solution is to implement a program of extermination of invasive fallow deer to manage their population and mitigate the ecological and agricultural impacts caused by their presence. The extermination program aims to ensure the conservation of native species, protect habitats, and minimize economic losses to agriculture.

Provincial Government Responsibility

The B.C. government has a responsibility to manage this problem and provide funding for the eradication of the fallow deer since it licensed the commercial operation of a fallow deer farm on Mayne and now that these deer are feral on the landscape and are now considered provincial wildlife.

In 1999, a senior provincial official in an email to a colleague stated that “We share a concern about fallow deer on Mayne Island … we have probably already missed our best opportunity to control this population.”

Despite many attempts over the years by the Mayne Island Deer Committee to get the provincial government to take full responsibility for the fallow deer problem on Mayne, the province has not taken significant action nor provided funding to resolve the problem. The B.C. government did take some actions, a summary of which is listed below.

Our Current Ask of the Provincial Government

The MIDMS, with the support of the Capital Regional District (CRD), has submitted an Invasive Fallow Deer Framework  to the provincial government. It outlines the elements required for a comprehensive management plan to eliminate the invasive fallow deer and restore degraded ecosystems, including:

• Details of the work required, the resources needed, and the delineation of responsibilities,
• Outlining the partners, including the Province, the Capital Regional District (CRD), First Nations, and the Mayne Island Deer Management Society,
• Collaborating with experts, and continuing research and monitoring,
• Identifying control measures such as hunting, trapping, and mass removals,
• Highlighting protection and restoration measures such as fencing and replanting native species.

The provincial government needs to fund the implementation of a management plan, with the goal being the complete eradication of the fallow deer on Mayne Island.  Without this action there is no hope of environmental recovery.

See NEWS & EVENTS page for updates on recent MIDMS meetings with the provincial government, community engagement, and next steps.

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Previous Government Actions

2000-2003

A petition was sent to the Ministry of Agriculture from a group of Mayne farmers outlining damage to pastures, fruit trees and crops from escaped fallow deer.  Five special permits that allowed for hunting using rifles were issued by the Fish and Wildlife branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations to licensed hunters to begin harvesting Fallow deer on properties where owners had granted permission to hunt.

2014

Two meetings were held by the Mayne Island Deer Committee with Fish and Wildlife and three more special permits were granted by the Fish and Wildlife branch of the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations for a total of eight.

2018

The hunting regulations were changed by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to a General Open Season (GOS ). Fallow deer were now allowed to be hunted all year with no limits on the number of deer being harvested. The numbers of harvested fallow deer were documented by the special permit holders:

• Beginning in 2003 and continuing to 2020, the special permit hunters harvested 2468 Fallow deer (1470 bucks and 998 does) using rifles.  The number of fallow deer harvested by non-special permit hunters is not known.

2019

A 10 day pilot project run by the CRD with the support of Tsartlip Nation hunters was implemented on nation land at Helen Point and in partnership with other landowners.  By the end of the pilot project, at least 70 deer were harvested.

2020

Special permits were not renewed by the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations. Hunting is now only allowed with shotguns or bows and arrows.