Canberra hunters say they have an important part to play in controlling feral deer populations.
Hunter and ecologist David Carter said recreational hunting helped farmers control invasive species.
Dr Carter, the Australian Deer Association ACT vice-president, said hunting was a critical tool in the fight against feral animals.
"We have good long-term relationships with landholders where we have an effective role in keeping deer numbers down," he said.
"That's measured by the landholders, they're welcoming us back. It's a bit of a lid on the population.
"We understand that works when you have relatively small properties with moderate deer numbers and not a lot of money."
Feral animal numbers out of control
Concerns about the control of feral deer have come after a surge in numbers in recent months, thanks to three years of wet seasons.
Last year the National Feral Deer Action Plan was released by the federal government to address the burgeoning pest population in Australia.
The plan noted current populations were too big to be controlled by recreational hunting alone, and deemed eradication impossible in south-eastern Australia, including the ACT.
The territory government is responding to the population explosion with the biggest aerial control program the ACT has ever seen.
An ACT government spokesperson said ground shooting was not effective at controlling pests, as previous programs had shown.
"Professional ground shooting is much less effective than thermal-assisted aerial shooting, particularly at low densities across challenging terrain found in Namadgi National Park," they said.
"Recreational hunting on public land needs to be carefully managed and requires resources to do so. These resources are best put towards aerial control for the most effective control of pest animal impacts."
Dr Carter said the ACT was a particular case for hunting because its small area made it better equipped to tackle pests than other regions.
He said in bigger states with more land to cover, there was often not enough resources to effectively control feral pests.
Victoria has allowed recreational hunting in state forests and some national parks since 2004. Government bodies estimate hunters kill around 150,000 deer per year, out of an estimated population of 1 million animals.
However, to control the feral populations, the number of deer removed must be higher than the rate of population growth. Feral deer populations can increase in size by 34 to 50 per cent every year.
Hunters not part of solution, says environment group
Allowing recreational hunting in national parks and state forests has come under severe criticism from several environment and animal rights groups.
Jack Gough, from the Invasive Species Council, said the last thing they wanted was recreational hunters being allowed into national parks.
"We need professional, well-funded, long-term invasive species management programs," he said.
"It sounds nice in theory, but in practice amateur hunters don't take enough numbers, and often it results in an increase in feral animals because governments vacate the space.
"We know from examples all around the country that it doesn't work."
Dr Carter said while they don't see hunters shooting deer in Namadgi at this stage, they can help manage pests outside the park.
He said hunters helping control deer populations wasn't a conflict of interest now the population was entrenched.
"It's an easy argument to make, that you need to have deer around or you can't go hunting, but I think it's outdated now," he said.
"Since their numbers have really taken off it's a bit of a moot argument. The deer are there, we work to suppress their numbers, and if we work in a concentrated way on discreet properties we can have a real impact."
