On Tuesday, it was announced that the NSW government is considering giving all gun licence holders in the state the right to cull wild deer populations on private property in a bid to reduce herd numbers.

Under current rules, a game hunting licence is needed to shoot deer - with some exceptions.

Read more: Invasion: The deer are coming to a town and garden near you

This news follows last week's police and council operation to catch and kill a feral deer that was loose on the Blue Mile in Wollongong.

The deer was judged to be a risk to people as it was near busy roads and residential areas, having climbed an embankment near the Continental Pool.

NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said there are "a number of options on the table to manage the state's increasing deer population, including removing the game status of deer".

"The deer population has exploded over the last 10 years and the current policy settings limit the ability of landholders and farmers to effectively manage the species," he said on Tuesday.

"Deer pose a particular problem during drought, and this government will do what it can to assist farmers through these incredibly tough times."

NSW Shadow Minister for the Illawarra and South Coast Ryan Park welcomed the announcement to take action to cull the deer population.

Mr Park said he had long advocated for culling to address the increasing crisis of the growing wild deer population in the region.

Mr Park said the Illawarra needed to be named as a priority location by the government, citing recent incidents of deer spotted at North Wollongong beach and along Memorial Drive in Fairy Meadow.

"To see these feral deer on Memorial Drive and local beaches is very concerning," he said.

Wollongong City Councillor Leigh Colacino has first-hand experience of the problem with feral deer in the Illawarra.

The northern suburbs resident said the news was "really positive", because "the deer issues up here are just getting crazier".

"We've got a lot to contend with; there's the Royal National Park, the escarpment and the water catchment areas, and they were the home bases for deer, and that's where the population increased," he said.

"But now they're spreading further and further down into the residential areas.

"We're not talking about Bambi or Santa's helpers, we're talking about deer that are a feral pest. They're not an animal you should go up to and pat, because chances are they might attack you."

Cr Colacino said the odds of deer causing an accident on the roads was on the rise.

"To have deer at North Beach is just crazy," he said. "The culling that is currently occurring is less than the birth rate, so we have to do something or we're going to be in a serious situation where deer will be over-running the residential areas."

The news received support from the Invasive Species Council, with chief executive Andrew Cox saying deer are now in "plague numbers" throughout most of NSW.

The state government in November suspended some deer hunting regulations to help landowners struggling with the deer population and drought.

The three-year change removed some rules, allowing appropriate licence holders to target all species of deer year-round, use a spotlight, aircraft, watercraft or motor vehicle to hunt deer on private land, and use a bait, lure or decoy to attract deer.

Read more: Wollongong deer drama - councillor calls for action