Hi John,
You might like to also make the additional point that hunting in national
parks will drive some feral and native animals onto neighbouring rural
lands. This could result in increased damage to crops and increased grazing
competition with livestock. Potential predators (e.g. dingoes) could follow
the grazers onto rural lands, which would increase the risk of mortality or
injury to livestock.
(Trying to think of economic reasons because the pollies are obviously not
interested in environmental ones).
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde NSW
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of John Leonard
Sent: Saturday, 21 July 2012 12:03 PM
To: Canberra Birds; Birding-aus
Subject: hunting in national parks, NSW and Qld
Hi everyone,
I know it won't make any difference but I want to write to the premiers of
NSW and Qld over the proposed opening of national parks to recreational
shooting.
Just wanted to float what I think are the main reason why this is a bad
idea past you to see if there are arguments I have missed:
1. The stated reason for allowing hunting is to control feral animals, but
feral animals are not controlled by recreational shooting, but by carefully
managed extermination or suppression campaigns conducted by professionals.
2. Recreational shooters have no interest in exterminating feral animals
from national parks, otherwise they would no longer have anything to shoot,
and there have been cases where hunters have introduced additional
feral animals as game into reserves. The effect of this policy could in
fact be to increase the number of feral animals in national parks where
they were not present before (especially deer being moved to new areas).
3. Shooters create more disturbance in national parks than other users, as
typically they move off paths and tracks. This would include damaging
vegetation and frighting native animals, driving them away. This
is particularly the case if they bring dogs into national parks.
4. Unsupervised shooters may target native animals and birds instead of
ferals.
5. There is likely to be a conflict between shooters' and others' use of
national parks, and other users may be injured in shooting accidents.
6. There already exists an industry catering for shooters on private
properties, to open national parks up to shooting is to take money away
from rural landholders who have previously offered hunting on
their properties.
--
John Leonard
Canberra
Australia
www.jleonard.net
I want to be with the 9,999 other things.
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