G'day all,
I think it behoves us all to make our selves acquainted with the facts
surrounding this issue.
1). For those wishing to understand in greater detail what this bill is
about that is being introduced by the NSW Shooters Party, it is called the
Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009. A direct link to it is
provided here
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/nswbills.nsf/0/6dce0470707e4f
4bca2575b4001bd3f1/$FILE/b2009-031-d10-House.pdf
2). To lodge your objections for this bill, please write, phone or send an
email to;
Carmel Tebbutt
Deputy Premier
Minister for Climate Change and the Environment
244 Illawarra Road
Marrickville NSW 2204
Phone: (02) 9558 9000
Fax: (02) 9558 3653
Email:
Postal Address:
PO Box 170
Marrickville NSW 1475
3). What concerns me is that the act doesn't make enough of a distinction
about what is shot and where. Rather, the act will allow any of the
animals/birds at any of the locations to be shot. Ie: Black Swans and
Corella's are listed among the list of game animals. If a location has only
1 nesting pair of Black Swans' this act allows for them to be hunted.
4). This act fails to recognise the effect hunting has on other wildlife
species not listed within it.
5). This act fails to make a distinction between a location that has one
species in great abundance, and one that the same species sparsely.
6). This bill does not recognise the importance and value of our native
wildlife and birds. It instead seeks only to make provision for the NSW
Shooter party to be able shoot whichever animals and birds as they have
listed in the act, ON THEIR TERMS.
I think if we all took some time to look at what is being asked by the NSW
Shooters Party in this bill, and what the impact that allowing such a bill
to pass will mean, I can't see how we can sit back and not at the very least
send an email to Carmel Tebbutt voicing our concerns that this bill is not
in the best interests of our native wildlife.
Regards,
Mark Young
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Graeme Stevens
Sent: Sunday, 14 June 2009 11:37 AM
To: ;
Subject: Shooting in NPs
Sound point Ross and to make the assumption that some, maybe many, sporting
shooters are
not also conservationists is unsound. I have met many who are as appalled at
the damage done by goats,
rabbits etc to the national estate as the most ardent subscriber to
birding-aus.
Greg Clancy makes a very sound point on why uncontrolled shooting should not
be permitted in National Parks,
especially on public safety grounds, but controlled culling by skilled
marksmen is a different issue and may satisfy multiple
objectives.
It seems to me that the "elephant in the room" as the saying goes, is that
it has terrific political and electoral appeal to
dedicate new National Parks, often for the best of reasons, but it is not
necessarily followed up with the resources to manage them. As a result, they
can become fabulous reservoirs for feral animals and noxious weeds - ask any
adjoining landholder.
I could provide a few pointed examples from goats to blackberry.
All a question of balance I think and like all species, whether rabbits,
Eastern Greys or perhaps even us, if we let the population get out of
control, resource depletion, disease, starvation or conflict will eventually
sort it out.
As I think Chris Brandis pointed out (sorry Chris if I misquote) we are
already past the point in many situations of assuming natural systems can be
left to work on their own. We may wish it were otherwise but we are now an
integral part of the "natural system" and romantic notions to the contrary
just wont cut it over much of our wonderful country. Balanced and wise
intervention is the only viable option so why not use all resources at our
disposal?
I would much rather see a National Park closed for the weekend while
supervised members of the Sporting Shooters Association cleaned out the
goats on foot (if they cant be economically trapped and utilised) than watch
them eat eveything on the ground and up to the browse line, then ringbark
the trees.
Please let's try not to vilify people who enjoy the natural environment and
care for it whether they carry binoculars, rod or rifle Never know, they
may think our lack of balance pretty selfish from time to time?
Graeme Stevens
> From:
> To:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Shooting in NPs
> Date: Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:42:51 +1000
>
> Parks Victoria actually awarded a Kookaburra Award in 2007 to the Nihill
> Sporting Shooters Association for their work shooting feral goats in the
> Little Desert NP. It's an appropriate application of hunting in national
> parks - controlled by the park managers, and targetted against feral pest
> species. Recreational hunting is not...
>
> Ross Macfarlane
>
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