Hi all,
I assume most of you are aware of the NSW Government’s legislation that will allow shooting in various national parks and nature reserves. I was gobsmacked when Nick Nicholls sent me the list of reserves where shooting is to be allowed. It includes both The Charcoal Tank (that is CT’s correct name) and Buddigower along with a lot of other reserves that people such as COG visit on a regular basis. I have forwarded on the email I sent to Barry O’Farrell today. If anybody want a copy of the list of reserves I can send one on. I can also send on an email from a member of the NSW Shooters and Fishers Party trying to legitimise the reopening of a duck and quail shooting season where he claims NSW is in the grip of a “plague” of ducks who are wiping out NSW farmers. The whole business is to secure the votes of the 2members of the Shooters and Fishers and Fishers Party and the Christian Democrats – Fred Nile’s mob (another bloody idiot).
I did actually have to tone down my email considerably! You will notice I have not addressed it to ”The Honourable ....” as I don’t believe there are many politicians, of all persuasions who are, and certainly not in O’Farrell’s case (this is one of the reasons I don’t vote anymore – none of them can be trusted or are honourable!). Please feel free to contact the NSW Government if you are concerned about this issue. If enough people ram down O’Farrell’s throat that we don’t want his legislation, as members of the natural history fraternity, the sooner he may (ha ha) take notice.
I will not stop banding in CT and Bu regardless of what this idiot does.
Cheers,
Mark
Dear Mr O’Farrell,
I refer to your media release of Wednesday 30 May 2012, “Game and Feral Animal Control Act” that lists the 79 areas under NSWNPWS control where shooting will be allowed to control feral animals. I would like to know on what evidence this list was compiled. For 26 years my team and I have been conducting a bird banding study in two of those nature reserves listed, The Charcoal Tank and Buddigower Nature Reserves, situated near West Wyalong. The greater majority of the time has been spent studying in The Charcoal Tank NR. In all that time I have noticed feral pig damage on only two brief occasions about 10 years ago (a rudimentary pig trap was erected but I doubt that it caught anything), have never seen a feral goat in either reserve, have heard but not seen foxes, nearly always from the surrounding farmland, and in May this year saw our first feral cat, although we do see tracks fairly regularly. Rabbits have tried to establish a warren in The Charcoal Tank but have never been successful as it gets flooded on a regular basis. We often drive to West Wyalong and back at night and it is rare to see a rabbit. The only feral animal that is reasonably regularly seen, and again mostly on farm land or along roads, is the European Hare. We did have a mob of six feral sheep living in The Charcoal Tank reserve for approximately 18 months before they were removed by the adjoining land owner after I had repeatedly complained to the local NPWS office. Any dogs that have been recorded are from either the adjoining farm or from people letting “Fido” out for a toilet stop (illegally of course) – see the next paragraph!
The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve is 86 hectares in area. Do you or the minister have any idea how far a high velocity bullet can travel. The centre of the reserve is quite open and at the front of the reserve, which borders the Newell Highway, is a public rest area that is regularly used by both truck drivers and members of the general public. I cannot for the life of me see why such small reserves as The Charcoal Tank , Buddigower and several other small reserves were chosen in the first place.
In relation to shooting feral goats in the more western national parks and nature reserves, are you aware that many former sheep graziers are now resorting to farming feral goats as they are more profitable than sheep and are more adapted to the arid and semi-arid conditions in these western areas? Should a national park bordering private property, where goats are being farmed, manage to eradicate the species, what controls will you put on the graziers to stop “their” goats from re-invading the national park or reserve?
Feral pigs are a difficult problem but having worked with the CSIRO in parts of western NSW and SW QLD I can assure you I have seen more on private land than I have in national parks or nature reserves. Trapping and poisoning are more successful ways of dealing with them than the occasional shooting party.
How are you going to protect members of the public who will be visiting the listed parks and reserves from being on site when shooters are present? Both Nombinnie and Round Hill Nature Reserves are extremely popular bird watching sites as are many other of the listed parks. The biggest problem you have unleashed here is not the responsible shooter, often in association with licensed gun clubs, but the “red-neck” element who will see that such and such a reserve is now open to shooting. It is no good saying that NPWS officers will be responsible for organising the “time table” for shooters as they are already totally understaffed and grossly under financed already.
I do actually agree with the use of professional shooters in national parks, when under the control of NPWS staff, to try an eradicate feral species, and even kangaroos in times of drought. Properly qualified members of gun clubs have been used successfully in other states to clean up feral species. As I have said above all this legislation will do is allow anybody with a gun a free hand in reserves. If you think otherwise you don’t know human nature. You can’t legislate against idiots – look at the gun crime in Sydney, hoon car drivers and people who ride unregistered, unlicensed and with no helmets in national parks and reserves.
There is very little conservation value in this legislation; what is needed is much more financial assistance to the NPWS. By far vast majority of people I know are dead against this legislation and know it is just a cynical grab for several votes to get your power selloff through parliament. Are you or your fellow Liberal and National Party parliamentarians going to take personal responsibility for people’s safety in NSW’s parks and reserves – I very much doubt it. You and parliamentarians of all political persuasions remember that you are elected to do what your constituents want, not what you want. Should anything happen to any member of my bird banding team I will hold you personally responsible.
I do expect a reply to this email but am betting I don’t get anything other than a “generic” response.
Yours’ sincerely
Mark Clayton
