THE Invasive Species Council has criticised the Victorian Government for giving the hunting lobby more access to national parks under a mistaken policy of pest control.

Policy Officer Dr Carol Booth said recreational hunters had very little to contribute to feral animal control programs.

Dr Booth said bounty schemes were an abject failure and recreational hunters were a danger to other people who used the park.

“Pest control should be undertaken by professionals, who are much more efficient and humane," Dr Booth said.

“The Victorian Government should be running a science-based pest control program, not one sponsored by the hunting lobby."

Field and Game, which represents hunters, has rejected the Council's claims.

Dr Booth said the recreational hunting approach to feral animal control would give governments an excuse not to conduct proper control programs and may lead to a worsening of the feral animal problem.

“Hunters sometimes move feral animals into national parks so there will be something to ‘control’, and may leave females and young behind as something to kill the next year,” Dr Booth said.

The council recently released a report, A Deer Mistake, regarding recreational hunting to control feral animals.

“Bounty schemes have been an abject failure,” Dr Booth said.

“Natural replacement soon makes up for the animals shot by recreational hunters."

Dr Booth said in one example from a reserve in South Australia, 65 recreational hunters hunting for four days killed 44 deer while one professional hunter killed 182 deer in four hours from a helicopter.

"To manage recreational hunting in national parks is costly," Dr Booth said.

"The time and money would be better spent on direct pest control."

However, Field and Game has labelled the claims as rubbish.

Chief executive officer Rod Drew said the proposed hunting in the river red gum forests would be done under a partnership between hunters and the government.

“The use of voluntary conservation hunter to control feral animals has save the government a lot of money,” Mr Drew said.

He said a similar system operated successfully in NSW where hunting was tightly controlled.

Mr Drew said qualified hunters had a code of conduct they adhered to and would not leave females and young animals behind to hunt the following year.

"They claim hunters move feral animals into parks so they have something to hunt but that’s just rubbish," Mr Drew said.

"I'd like to see evidence of that."

Mr Drew said there would be no hunting during peak tourist periods.