Australia & New Zealand : Australia: Why I want to shoot in National Parks
on 2009/9/22 15:32:17
Volunteer hunters have a legitimate role in wild animal management - and they should be allowed to do so in our national parks.

In fact, conservation hunting is not a new concept.

The Shooters Party's Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009, which is yet to be debated in the NSW Parliament, has attracted much ill-informed comment about what the Bill will achieve for conservation.

This Bill is not about hunting native animals, despite claims, mainly by the Greens.

Rather it facilitates the control of feral animals in National Parks, as is currently the case in NSW State Forests.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has a similar view, that “ethical and wise sustainable use of some wildlife can provide an alternative or supplementary means of productive land use, and can be consistent with and encourage conservation, where such use is in accordance with adequate safeguards”.

Aldo Leopold, described as “the father of conservation” was an avid hunter, and he carefully documented the efforts of hunters as conservationists in two pioneering publications.

Leopold's dictum of wildlife management was based on a scientific approach of “wise and sustainable use” of wildlife resources, which is a sentiment echoed by many of the world's leading wildlife scientists for more than 50 years.

Utilising the efforts of conservation hunters to help manage the impacts of both game and feral animal species has now been implemented in four States (NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, Northern Territory) and in New Zealand.

Volunteer conservation hunters have made significant contributions to game and feral animal management and conservation, since the late 1980's. In South Australia's Flinders Ranges, Operation Bounceback has seen the restoration of many degraded ecosystems through an integrated approach, based on community and government partnerships, including conservation hunters. One of the program's most important achievements has seen populations of the endangered Yellow-footed Rock Wallaby stabilise – after the removal of foxes, feral cats and feral goats.

The Game and Feral Animal Control Act Amendment Bill 2009 includes provisions for the streamlining of the management of game birds and the establishment of private game reserves such as those that exist in other states of Australia. The Bill also includes changes to the current laws in respect of kangaroos culled in non-commercial zones so as to allow recreational hunters to legally take the meat and skins for personal use, as applies in other States.

Currently, in NSW, kangaroos culled under the non-commercial programs, must be left to rot in the paddocks. This only serves to attract foxes, dogs, pigs and other pests, and increases the risk of fly strike in sheep.

Of course the Greens have widely promoted the ridiculous notion that shooters would be running rampant through National Parks shooting any native animal they came across.

Thankfully their outrageous misinformation campaign has failed with a number of polls and surveys revealing that the majority of people actually support the shooting of feral animals in national parks.

This is particularly the case when it is revealed the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service used around 500,000 toxic 1080 (sodium monofluoroacetate) baits over the last 12 months.

Our Bill seeks to extend the highly efficient use of volunteer hunters from State Forests and other Crown lands, into national parks, and is a comprehensive proposal to better manage feral animals.

The Shooters Party did not simply dream up this Bill, it follows a recently completed five-year review of the Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 and addresses the recommendations it made for reform.

By any measure, what we are proposing is sensible, practical and reasonable. If approved by a majority of members of both houses of Parliament, these measures will add to the huge contribution volunteer conservation hunters provide in respect of conservation in NSW.

Robert Brown is a member of the Legislative Council in the NSW Parliament, representing The Shooters' Party

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/...s-20090921-fxlg.html

Common sense isn't it. I dearly hope you guys win this one, it just seems wrong that you don't have full access to such a huge resource.
Thought for a miniute that NZ was going to be included as the 5th state, pleased to read it properly and find it outside the brackets.

SP being a member of a couple of Kiwi forums I read very often of the shit you blokes have there with the 1080 problem also.

Gryph, keep spreading the word and garnering support.

As we both know, a few years ago, even hunting in State Forests (NSW) was a dream available only to a select few, and TSP in co-ordination with the Game Council has made that a reality that has encouraged heaven knows how many new shooters to join our ranks...

Add the changes that make it much easier for a potential shooter to try shooting (much more publicity needs to be done in that regard) without having to have a licence, and we're moving forward.

quote:

Originally posted by shankspony:
included as the 5th state, pleased to read it properly and find it outside the brackets.

There's already more than five states shanks

Aussie seems to be going forward at the moment, good on you lot for doing it to. Where as us, well we have work to do fighting the ones that run our parks.....