I've just sent the following email to the NSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell:
My dear Premier
I’m extremely concerned about the legal & financial implications for the NSW government, not to mention the tax payers, of the decision to allow shooting of wildlife in national parks.
You may not know that bird watching is Australia’s second most popular recreation activity behind gardening so shooting in national parks will certainly endanger the lives of the many bird watchers who visit these refuges of Australia’s fast-disappearing wildlife. I’m wondering, therefore, if you have considered how it will look for you & your government when the first headlines appear about the shooting of a bird watcher in a national park, particularly when there are so many drive-by shootings in NSW.
You may be interested to know that my wife & I, both avid bird watchers, have regrettably cancelled our planned bird watching & wildlife photography trip to NSW this year due to this seemingly reckless decision. We love bird watching but have no intention of having our lives put at risk by wildlife shooters, preferring instead to visit national parks in a much safer state.
Yours sincerely & concernedly
Good letter Woko when the hunters get bored and they can't find any ferals they will start shooting birds and any thing that moves.
Nightowl
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
There are other ways of ridding Australia of feral animals, Nightowl. All we need is the same will we put into the Snow Mountains Scheme etc.
Great letter Woko - its scary stuff.
I am all for eradication of ferals - I don't know if shooting is the answer (I suspect not) but I know I would much rather have professional marksmen doing it under certain conditions and ensuring that animal welfare is met rather than a whole bunch of amateurs.
Scary that this is only being allowed to meet some other goals that the NSW goverment has.
If I get a response (& it would be a first from Barry O'Barrell, oops, O'Farrell) I expect it'll be along the lines that there's an agreement that shooters will shoot only feral animals therefore it's a win for national parks. However, like you, Holly, I'm not sure I'd want a bunch of trigger-happy Draculas in charge of the blood bank. And it still doesn't overcome the problem of bird watchers walking around national parks with cross hairs front & back.
I hate to tell you this, but some months ago some nights we heard shooting behind us in the State Park. I went to the Police the next day, only to be told, there was nothing illegal about shooting in State Parks. I then went to the office of Parks Victoria (just here in Gembrook), I was told the same, nothing illegal about shooting in the Park. If the person has a licence, that's fine by them. Not to worry that it was VERY close to our house. They stated , people shoot cats and deer and foxes (only God knows what else?), that's fine. The police told me, they wouldn't even come out to investigate. They wanted me to make a list of the time of the day and location.
(well, I have heard it said more often than I can remember, "it's a free country" . To me freedom is not "you can do what you like")
M-L
How long until someone gets shot and the shooter says "I thought they were a deer". Happens often enough in State Forests where there aren't as many bushwalkers. If it moves shoot it!
You can already shoot in a few Victorian National Parks. I was always under the impression shooting wasn't legal in state parks though. I know they can't shoot ducks in them during duck season.
As a shooter i take offense at some of the comments and assumptions in this thread, all the hunters I know are ethical and responsibie. I personally have only shot two native animals, one a Kangaroo I found hung up in a fence with most of the flesh stripped off its leg, the other a young wombat that had been badly mauled by two dogs and was barely alive. I also shot the dogs!
I can remember how destressed Araminta was with the wombat blind with mange after all the "proper channels" couldnt or wouldnt help it was a deerhunter who stepped up to end its suffering.
I also dont like being compared to criminals re drive-by shootings.
There has always been hunting in state parks and on crown land and the comment about bird watchers walking around with cross-hairs on them is just absurd, I'd be more worried about getting run down by idiots on unregistered motorbikes illegaly tearing along walking tracks ! ah but thats another story.
Araminta, are you talking about the Bunyip SP? Just did a search and shooting isn't legal in the park, at least not in 2007. http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/313248/BunyipState-Park-Management-Plan.pdf
Ah, Sparrow, if only all shooters were as responsible as you. Sadly, this isn't the case as I can attest. I've been involved in cleaning up after shooters at Bool Lagoon. I'm mindful of the members of field & game groups who adopt a responsible, professional approach to shooting but I'm also mindful of the hangers on who don't. I'm also very concerned that Barry O'Farrell's OK for shooting in national parks will be seen as a green light by hoons who aren't responsible, professional members of field & game groups.
And you're absolutely right about the absurdity of my cross hairs on bird watchers comment. Perhaps it reflects what I see to be the absurdity of the Premier's decision.
Araminat, are there signs at entrances to Bunyip State Park prohibiting shooting given that shooting is banned under the Victorian National Parks Act? If not, why not, I wonder?
If police are saying it's legal to shoot in Bunyip State Park then either they're lazy & don't want to enforce the legislation or they're short staffed & can't give the matter a high priority (until someone is shot) or they need to be brought up to speed on shooting in parks.
I'm also curious about each state having its own National Parks Act or equivalent. What does this say about our federation?
My personal opinion is that if anyone has the inclination to shoot a gun at any animal in the name of sport or recreation, then they can go and hide. Period. While I am certain that there would be some shooters responsible enough, I cannot help but think of the worst-case scenario and apply that to my train of thought. It's no different when I think of bird watching and twitchers and some photographers, who will do anything to get a shot or see a bird just for the sake of ticking it off. On that note, I am sure there are far more responsible bird observers and photographers (and shooters) than twits, but it is hard to accept that all are one or the other. From a WHS perspective this is absolutely disgraceful as the day will dawn when an innocent person gets killed or injured by some stupid person shooting a gun!
I don't agree with shooting in National Parks. Leave it to licensed shooters who do it for work and get paid to shoot ferals.
Unfortunately the powers to be always seem to wait till a problem gets too big before doing anything,and then don't like to haveing to pay to fix it.
Even though I am a shooter I actually agree with you, National Parks should be closed to shooting or at the very least only open to active members of the Field and Game and Sporting Shooters that way there could be some controls and some measure of accountability.
Hoons and twits seldom join these organisations, and if they do they're usually weeded out fairly quickly.
sparrow
you seemed to have a reasonable argument against grouping all shooters as being irresponsible
until your final paragraph where you maligned another group 'motorcyclists' - but then you were only talking about the 'idiots on unregistered motorbikes'
Peter
Sparrow, do you have any thoughts on what the responsible field & game groups should be shooting at if they're allowed into national parks? And how would they avoid accidental shooting of wildlife enthusiasts? Would there be special days set aside of the wildlife enthusiasts or the field & game people? And how would the hoon element be kept out of national parks once they got wind of shooting days being permitted?
I have to confess I'm quite concerned that Barry O'Farrell has let the genie out of the bottle.
As a motorcyclist, I agree that there are too many idiot motorcyclists (and shooters) in our forests.
- soakes
soakes
Olinda, Victoria, Australia
Some great discussion here guys - sparrow, as a shooter I certainly appreciate you posting your opinions.
BirdLife Australia has released a statement on the issue:
BirdLife Australia condemns the NSW government’s decision to allow recreational hunting in the state’s national parks and reserves.
Our national parks and reserves are set aside for the conservation of biodiversity and to foster ‘public appreciation, understanding and enjoyment of nature and cultural heritage and their conservation’ (NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974 - the Act). Recreational shooting in our parks and reserves contravenes the objects of the Act and will put the safety of other park users at risk.
Amendments to the NSW Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 will mean that recreational shooters will be able to shoot pigs, dogs, cats and goats in 79 of the state’s National Parks, Nature Reserves and State Conservation Areas.
While the NSW Premier, Barry O’Farrell, claims that the decision was made on the basis that recreational shooting will improve feral animal control in conservation reserves, there can be no doubt that it is actually based on politics not science. The Premier’s own media release states that ‘... the Government had decided to expand the culling program to allow smooth passage of legislation to sell the State’s power generators.’ - a frank admission that this is a ‘political deal’ between the O’Farrell Government and the Shooters and Fishers Party rather than a decision based on sound conservation management principles.
BirdLife Australia supports well designed, sustained, targeted and humane eradication strategies. However research shows that ad hoc recreational hunting is ineffective in feral animal control because:
Permits will be issued by the Game Council NSW, a body dominated by recreational shooters that represents recreational interests that has no capacity to deliver effective, science-based feral animal control programs.
BirdLife Australia encourages its members, particularly those who live in NSW, to write to Premier O’Farrell and state MPs to let them know that you are oppose this decision and that you want the NSW Government to rescind on its commitment to introduce recreational shooting in our conservation reserves.
Thanks for reminding me of the wombat noone wanted to come out to shoot , when he desperately needed to be shot.
I'm as worried about the motorbikes as you are, my husband doesn't take his horse out on weekends anymore , because he is too worried to fall off when they come out of nowhere and frighten the horse.
There is a difference between a resonsible hunter and idiots just going out killing for fun!
As for signs: No shooting, I have seen them at the entrance of the Bunyip State Park. Unfortunately there is also the Bunyip State Forrest, and some Crown Land. Very hard to tell where on ends and the other starts. All three have different rules and regulations. Some of it is leased by the Scout Movement,and there are some private properties in there and also some farms. I had no idea that you can shoot as much as you like on your own land? That doesn't sit well with me either, but that's something the police told me when I asked them. The lot is extremely vague to me. All I know, I can hear shooting behind us quite often. I fear mostly for the Wallabies and Koalas that come onto our property at night (sometimes during the day). We don't even let the dogs outside after dark, because we don't want to bother any wildlife.
M-L
M-L
Like most people in NSW I am opposed to shooting in national parks. What upsets me is the "spin" from the shooters party and the Liberal government that this will help with feral control. I even heard the premier on ABC tv link the issue to dogs attacking sheep. They know full well that this feral animal control claim isn't valid, but they want to use the hatred toward feral animals for their own purposes. It is an oft-used political tactic to channel hatred for political reasons. The fact is there aren't enough recreational hunters to make much of a difference, as birdlife Australia noted. This is not a view that the shooters party are happy with.
Nice one, Holly. I'd overlooked the likelihood of people deliberately releasing feral animals into parks to increase the target numbers.
Araminta, I suppose I had this notion that the Scout Movement would be keen to conserve natural areas rather than destroy them. Perhaps I'm mistaken, misled or mystified. It's great that your garden is a refuge for escapees from environmental vandalism but the carrying capacity of your garden is limited. Individual birds will have insufficient resources to survive. And with the rate of environmental vandalism some species are likely to become locally extinct as they require minimum areas of bush to survive. So it's really concerning that a supposedly reputable organisation like the Scout Movement should be involved in such vandalism.
Yes Woko, I know I can only do so much, but there is also a property next to us, 120 acres of absolutely untouched bush. Sorry to tell you this, the Scouts next to us do NOT look after the bush, there is a lot of slashing going on,it is managed by them and the DSE, do I have to say more???
It upsets me almost every day to see this grow and grow. They have recieved $450 000 as a grant to turn this area into a recreational and educational giant. (If this gets too big and noisy for us, as they play very loud music on weekends, and play army type games on huge obstical courses, we will move away from it)
Again, nature and wildlife looses!
M-L
What a tragedy it would be if you had to move because of the further encroachment of development.
I wonder if a letter to the chief scouting poobah would help the scout brain cells start to think in another direction. A letter wouldn't be likely to save the bush next to you but might help prevent the scouts from vandalising other areas of bushland. Surely this issue needs to be more widely publicised. It's a bloody scandal!!! (You'll understand my French, of course).
i liked your letter woko and i suggest that everyone who has a facebook account goes on Barry O'Farrell's page and write something. Many people have expressed dismay about the fact that a mentally ill woman joined a gun club, stole a gun and shot her father. The shooters do not want the loopholes closed up and they have plenty of power in nsw. There are shooters on his page defending their rights to shoot - I have no idea about shooting but I deplore any animals being shot for fun.
Barry O'Farrell must be very naive about FB because everyone is writing whatever they want on his page and it's not being moderated which is rather odd. I know brands such as Woolworths cleaned up their pages very quickly when people bombarded it with anti-poker machine messages. You would think that he (used to be called Fatty O'Barrell, but now he's lost weight,) would be more astute about his brand!
I noticed this today:
10.45am for 11.00am until 12.15pm
Wahroonga Park, Millewa Ave, Wahroonga (short walk from Wahroonga Railway Station).
Stop the Shooters and Fishers Party’s legislation to allow amateur hunting in our national parks.
Come and hear key players from Animal Welfare Groups, the Conservation sector, Rangers and Scientists.
More info www.npansw.org.au
Hi Woko,
Our farm is surrounded by the Alpine National Park (in Vic). Last month we took a photo of 27 Sambar deer in our 20acre hay paddock. We keep this paddock well fenced and weed proof but deer respect nothing. Fences are constantly broken and wallows dug everywhere.
The deer dont live in the hay paddock or any other paddock - they come in to the farm every night from their hidey holes in the ANP.
Like wild dogs, they need to be controlled.
Here's hoping Barry Farrell will designate areas in the parks so that we bird watchers and recorders stay safe whilst the feral animals in the parks meet their comeupance.
Hi mtck. Sambar deer in a national park sounds almost like an oxymoron & I bet you welcome them to your farm like you would welcome an outbreak of the bubonic plague. Are there any steps being taken to eradicate the deer pest? It would be good if Barry O'Farrell had a sophisticated plan to target feral animals but I understand his shooting in parks scheme is simply a political move to gain the support of the Shooters Party so I can imagine that anything goes. It's an interesting approach to the environment on which we all depend for our existence. By the way, so far I've had no response from the Premier.
We have a permit to shoot deer but as they do the most damage (on the farm) at night, you've got to be dedicated to go shooting after a day's work. Winter is when the stags are in full antler and it is when we get a lot of unauthorised shooters coming onto the property. Feral animals (not rabbits though!) generally come out at dusk, night and early morning.
If Barry O'Farrell was genuine about the removal of feral animals, then shooting should only be one part of the total equation. At the very least, if the shooter's were registered and there were only limited permits for limited numbers in controlled areas, then the reduction of feral animals may start to occur. Wholesale open slather is a recipe for disaster.
Whilst deer do a lot of damage, wild cats, dogs and foxes are a greater problem to the bird population. If we could get some action on these latter three species, then we may see more birds populating the parks and reserves. In the 2003 fires, there was wholesale destruction of Lyrebirds and in 2012 we are still not seeing/hearing them. I suspect that the rebuilding of the Lyrebird numbers is not occuring because they are easy prey for ferals.
And where l talk of Lyrebirds, you can substitute any other bird species.
I share your thoughts, mtck. If Barry O'Farrell enlisted the skills of registered shooters who then worked in conjunction with experts in feral animal control & national park protection then there would be an argument for shooting in parks. The problem is that without a detailed national-park focussed plan people who are given the right to shoot are likely to continue blazing away once the ferals have been eradicated.