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Hunters in National Parks

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Subject: Hunters in National Parks
From: Wes Tolhurst <>
Date: Thu, 31 May 2012 09:12:54 +1000

It is my opinion that allowing recreational hunters into National parks is in 
the best interests of our native fauna.  I personally know a large number of 
people that are keen to help eradicate some of the feral beasties that are 
damaging our wild places.  For example, someone mentioned the Warrumbungles - a 
friend of mine used to shoot for NP and in one 4 day helicopter shoot they rid 
the park of 1500 feral goats.  Can you imagine the damage that number of goats 
would do in a single day to the fragile flora of that NP?  Yet most of us 
casual birders who walk the trails there would never see on because we don't 
see most of the truly wild spots.  We are limited by time and accessibility to 
the NP trails.  
I've seen the pictures and videos of foxes digging up mallee fowl mounds - who 
wouldn't want to see the foxes eradicated?  Why would we take the alarmist 
stance of suggesting hunters might actually target mallee fowl?  All the 
hunters I know love the bush and the Australian animals in it.  
Another guy I know shot a feral cat on an outback billabong.  In its stomach 
were 30 netted dragons, 2 earless dragons (endangered) a native mouse and bird. 
 He counted 35 other feral cats at the one waterhole.  
It's easy to sit in the city and conjure up all kinds of extreme examples of 
people that have done the wrong thing.  The truth is, out there, ferals are out 
of control... over 40 000 000 pigs in Australia (some say over 100 million).  
Why can't we all work together?  I worry for bowra station - where many of us 
have been and loved - now run by us conservationists - have we got the budget 
to control the already crazy number of cats in places like that where the 
threated redthroat and halls babbler roam?  
My 2 cents...
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