https://www.abc.net.au/news/20...bog-forest/105122372



NSW farmer calls for hunting buffer zones after bullets hit property

By Isla Evans and Joshua Becker
ABC South East NSW

Topic:Recreational Hunting


16 hours ago


In short:
A cattle farmer is calling for buffer zones to be established for hunters between state forests and farming land.

NSW Police is investigating an incident where a bullet reportedly hit the farmer's parked truck in February.

What's next?
The NSW Forestry Corporation says regulations are reviewed regularly, but hunting advocates argue buffer zones won't deter illegal shooters.


Living alongside a state forest and a popular recreational hunting ground, Matt French is familiar with the sounds of guns.

"When you're riding around or walking around, [and] you hear a bit of a crack," he said.

"You wonder whether it is a bullet or whether it is a crack in a tree."

But when his daughter discovered a bullet had shattered the windscreen of his parked truck, he started to fear for his family's safety.

"Sooner or later, it won't be just vehicles getting shot, it will be people," he said.
"It's inevitable unless they do something about it."


Not the first time

Mr French farms cattle and sheep on his property at Steeple Flat, which borders the Glenbog State Forest in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

Licensed hunters have had access to hunt recreationally on designated public land since 2006, following the formation of the Game Council in NSW in 2002.



Mr French said it was not the first time stray bullets had damaged his property.

He found a bullet hole in the base of another truck last September, and a bullet struck his home more than a decade ago.

"It gets a bit daunting," he said.
NSW Police confirmed it was investigating the most recent incident.

"The owner of the truck told police he believed the projectile might have come from the Glenbog State Forest, where it might have been fired by hunters in the forest," police said in a statement.

Mr French also claimed hunters frequently disobeyed maps and came onto his and his neighbours' private properties.


"They [neighbouring farms] get their fences cut, they get their padlocks cut or shot off," he said.

"They have their stock shot and they've come onto people on their places shooting all the time.

"It's gradually getting worse, I think that people just don't care.

"They're shooting over ridges, shooting anywhere, anything to get a kill."

Calling for buffer zones

Mr French wants to see a 2 kilometre buffer zone established in state forests that would prevent hunters from operating in an area that borders private property.

"These places that are alongside highways and private property, they shouldn't be allowed in there," Mr French said.

"The easiest way [to improve safety] is to have a 2 or 3km buffer zone."
There are over 2 million hectares of state forest in NSW, which is public land managed by the NSW Forestry Corporation.



"The types of hunting, times it is permitted and density of hunters in an area are considered in line with the risk assessment and this is regularly reviewed to ensure hunting is managed safely," the forestry corporation said in a statement.

Currently, by law, hunters must observe a 100 metre buffer zone around infrastructure, such as buildings or fire towers, on public land or infrastructure that is adjacent to public land.

They are also told to stay away from roads.

But Mr French has called for a buffer zone that extends 2km into the state forest, in cases where it borders private property such as farmland.

According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI), there were more than 24,000 restricted game hunting licence holders in the state.

The DPI confirmed there were no licensed hunters booked into the Glenbog State Forest on the day Mr French alleged the bullet shot his stationary vehicle.


"Illegal hunting is not tolerated by rural communities and tarnishes the reputation of safe and responsible recreational hunters who comply with the rules," the DPI said in a statement.

"The NSW Public Land Hunting program has operated safely for nearly two decades, with no serious safety incidents."

No deterrence for illegal activity

Craig Golding, former NSW president for the Shooters Union, and current director of hunting advocacy group Hook N Bone Alliance, said buffer zones would be ineffective.

Mr Golding said the restrictions wouldn't deter illegal shooters, which he called the "big problem".

"They're not going to care about a buffer zone around someone's farm. They're just going to do it," he said.

"Why should legal recreational hunters be penalised with further regulations over the acts of criminals?"



Despite calling for further restrictions, Mr French said he supported licensed hunters and their role in reducing the number of invasive animals in NSW.

"Here in Australia, it's a compulsory thing to have hunting to control some of the feral animals," he said.

"You need to be able to shoot, but you need the right hunters."