The association's Victorian president, Mr Sebastion Ziccone, said the blanket ban on deer hunting in the park was harmful to the animals and nearby landholders. The antler quality is dropping off, and that's a direct result of overcrowding. It keeps the herd healthy by reducing the numbers, and most likely the weakest and oldest animals. The hunting of deer is permitted in areas such as Blond Bay in East Gippsland and parts of the Alpine National Park. The association says a ballot system, such as that operating at Blond Bay, would be the best way to control the shooting of deer in the Grampians.
People apply to hunt the area.
They are given an opportunity in a ballot and if they are selected then only those people selected would hunt. We don't want open slather. We are asking for exclusive use of an area, which we once had access to, for a limited period of time when the vast majority of other recreational users of the park would not be using it, which is the middle of winter - June. Mr Ziccone said landholders adjoining the park were having problems with grazing deer herds and that the number quoted by Parks Victoria of about 300 deer in the park was conservative. A draft management plan outlining future strategies for the park was released in 1998.