canberrabirds

Souris vs Snipe

To: Philip Veerman <>, COG Chatline <>
Subject: Souris vs Snipe
From: Megan Mears <>
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2013 21:21:02 +1100
Hi Philip,

I was thinking that activities that interfere with where snipe gather to breed or feed, particularly in the Murray Darling Basin, may require referral under the EPBC Act. 
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/painted-snipe.pdf

I was not suggesting that snipe are game birds nor are they direct targets

Megan

On Saturday, February 9, 2013, Philip Veerman wrote:
Is an answer that Australian Painted Snipe is not a "game bird".
 
Philip
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Megan Mears [mailto:]
Sent: Saturday, 9 February 2013 2:06 PM
To: COG Chatline
Subject: [canberrabirds] Souris vs Snipe

Dear all,

Jack Holland's editorial in the recent Gang-gang prompted me to find out more about the Australian Painted Snipe (APS). I hadn't realised that the APS is 'nationally threatened under the EPBC Act' http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/painted-snipe.pdf though I'm sure many of you are well aware.

On the APS Project section at the Birds Austalia website the APS is listed as
  •     Endangered in New South Wales
  •     Threatened in Victoria

and 'In 2011 BirdLife Australia nominated  the Australian Painted Snipe to be upgraded to Endangered under the EPBC Act; a result will be found in 2012.' http://birdlife.org.au/projects/painted-snipe-project


I was interested in the APS's status, as a form letter I received from The Hon George Souris last week, states the following (italics):

Under existing legislation game bird hunting is allowed on agricultural land for pest management purposes. Under the new laws game bird hunting will be allowed for “sustainable agricultural management purposes only”.

Currently under the National Parks and Wildlife Act individuals can obtain a licence to hunt game birds on private land in NSW for pest management purposes.

The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) administers the native game bird licensing regime for land-holders and hunters. Hunters are also required to have a Game Council issued general licence. 

The OEH establishes annual quotas of native game birds to be culled based on scientific evidence.  In the year 2009/10 when John Robertson was the Environment Minister the quota was 33,425.

Game bird hunting predominantly happens in rice growing areas like the Riverina and towns nearby the Murray. Some are issued for cereal crops or to protect areas such as golf courses.

The Shooters and Fishers Party’s Bill proposed removing many restrictions on native game bird hunting, with the policy development and administration of licences to be done by the Game Council.

The Government’s amendments that were supported by Parliament provide better protection for native game birds and ensure an ongoing role for the Office of Environment and Heritage.

Under the changes native game bird hunting will be restricted to sustainable agricultural management purposes only.

The policy development and science, including the setting of quotas, will be done by a new Game Bird Management Committee.


Naturally my first thought was for an alternative universe where this is not happening but then I became curious about a conflict between the laws that protect the APS and those that allow game bird hunting nearby the Murray. At http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/publications/pubs/painted-snipe.pdf
it states

The species has a scattered distribution throughout many parts of Australia, with a single
record from Tasmania. Though some individuals are apparently resident in some areas, other
individuals appear to be nomadic, temporarily occupying areas where suitable habitat exists.
The Murray–Darling drainage system appears to have been a key area for this species, as many
records of this species come from this region.
Although the Australian Painted Snipe can occur across Australia, the areas of most sensitivity
to the species are those wetlands where the birds frequently occur and are known to breed.

Ideally one of you will tell me a process is already well underway, that it will clog the court for years, buying lots of time for the APS and other birds, until there are policy or gov't changes however I also looked on the Duck Hunting website which starts in Victoria in March and is looking like an excellent season. Is anyone aware of whether the effects of shooters removing  33 000 game birds from areas near the Murray consitutes 'a  significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance' for the APS?  If it is likely there is a referral procedure through the Australian Government Dept of the Env. Water, Heritage and the Arts,
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