{"id":46464,"date":"2026-07-08T07:32:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46464\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T07:32:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T07:32:21","slug":"unexpected-scene-at-home-inspection-highlights-huge-problem-spreading-across-australian-suburbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/46464\/","title":{"rendered":"Unexpected scene at home inspection highlights huge problem spreading across Australian suburbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple in the market for a new home<\/a> were admiring the natural landscape<\/a> at a property they were inspecting when suddenly they saw a deer peering at them<\/a> through the back fence.<\/p>\n

Buyer’s agent Tegan Vincent,<\/a> who was showing the Sydney property<\/a>, said it was the last thing she and the couple from Newtown were expecting to see in bushland<\/a> behind the Gymea Bay home<\/a> in the Sutherland Shire.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, she said the client “thought it was a statue”, but they quickly realised “it was real”.<\/p>\n

“They wanted a bit more nature, and they certainly got that,” she said.<\/p>\n

Tegan, from Inside Buyer, said it was the first time she’d seen a deer in the area<\/a>, despite being “a true local”. But she’s since learned “they’re everywhere in the Shire<\/a>” \u2014 particularly around Grays Point and Gymea Bay.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story about an invasive species? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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Tegan Vincent, a Sydney-based buyer’s agent, said she and the clients were shocked by the deer and didn’t know they existed in the area.<\/p>\n

(Tegan Vincent)<\/p>\n

Shire residents regularly report the pest rummaging through suburban properties<\/a> and roaming the streets, often darting through traffic<\/a>, a fair way from the bush and national parks they usually roam \u2014 and it’s proof of their spread.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Yahoo about the issue recently<\/a>, Jack Gough from the Invasive Species Council said it used to be “unusual” to see deer “deep into suburbia”, but it’s now becoming increasingly common.<\/p>\n

Why are deer so problematic?<\/p>\n

Feral deer, an introduced species, are known to be quite problematic. Not just in Southern Sydney but across the country.<\/a><\/p>\n

“It’s a problem in Melbourne and a growing issue in the Gold Coast and Canberra,” Jack said.<\/p>\n

“Adelaide is trying to remove them from the hills before they get out of control there.”<\/p>\n

In Tasmania,\u00a0calls are mounting for governments to somehow reduce deer numbers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“They have an impact on road users, they cause degradation of the environment, and they have a negative impact on agriculture,” Jack said previously.<\/p>\n

RELATED<\/p>\n

In suburbia, where their presence is becoming more prominent, residents may soon notice their impact.<\/p>\n

“In the city, it’s about the impact they have in digging up people’s gardens and sending people’s car insurance premiums higher,” Jack said<\/p>\n

“Feral deer trash, they trample, and they pollute our environment. They’re a serious pest.”<\/p>\n

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Deer are regularly spotted roaming the streets and gardens in southern Sydney. PIctured here in Gymea Bay, March<\/p>\n

Is anything being done to control the deer population?<\/p>\n

In most states and territories, deer are a protected species, so culling them has not been an option.<\/p>\n

In 2015, NSW changed its regulations to allow deer to be hunted on private land, while controlled government-led programmes have been introduced to help manage growing populations in open areas.<\/p>\n

Aerial shooting using thermal scopes has been the most effective method to control populations in national parks, such as the\u00a0Royal National Park in Sydney’s south;<\/a>\u00a0however, it’s not allowed in state forests.<\/p>\n

Because of the large numbers, eradication is near impossible.<\/p>\n

“Now it’s basically about long-term management. It’ll be an ongoing maintenance,” Jack said.<\/p>\n

“People are going to forever be seeing deer in their backyards, on the roads, and trashing and trampling that National Park and surrounding gardens and bushland”.<\/p>\n

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