One of the key Greens campaigns over the next four years is to abolish the Game Council, and we’d like your help to do it.
The setting up of the Game Council in 2002 was a shameless capitulation to the gun and hunting lobbies that has allowed it to promote a pro-gun culture in NSW, to licence cruel animal hunts and to divert funding from more humane and effective feral animal control methods.
As a recent editorial in the Sydney Morning Herald said: “Recreational hunting is not environmentally motivated; it is a blood sport. While feral animals do pose a serious threat to native ecosystems in national parks and within state-owned reserves, it does not follow that any measure which kills them is therefore useful.”
You can read an adjournment speech on animal cruelty David gave recently on animal cruelty here.
Recent issues relating to the Game Council and the Shooters Party:
- Pushing pro-gun culture propaganda in NSW primary schools
- Trials of pig-dog hunting, contrary to animal welfare regulations
- The O’Farrell Government opened 142 State Forests to hunting for 10 years as a reward for Shooters Party support in parliament
In the last term of NSW parliament, a campaign involving environmentalists, animal welfare groups and the Greens, stopped the Game Council’s push for recreational hunting in National Parks.
In the new Parliament, the Shooters Party are once again in a position to influence government legislation. Barry O’Farrell has already demonstrated his willingness to strike
To kick off the campaign we’d like to collect as many signatures as possible on a petition calling for the Game Council to be abolished.
You can get the petition and print it out by clicking here.
You can also help by sharing this page with your friends
PS: If you’d like to be kept up to date with our campaign to abolish the Game Council, please email us at [email protected].
The Greens should contact the Cumberland LHPA and make enquiries into the disgusting tactics and obstructions the Game Council is causing them in introducing a professional wild deer control program. I am sure they would be happy to talk with any representative as the Game Council is playing them same old game that amatauer hunters can control deer in a suburban area. This is not safe, not humane and simply not acceptable. Abolish Game Council immediately
Concerned resident you are wrong! In Victoria, Tasmania, NSW and QLD the Australian Deer Association has so-called amatuer hunters managing deer populations on both private and public land to the satisfaction of the land owners and managers. There are no negative effects for the land owners or managers by having the hunters there. The Game Council is to be applauded for reducing the burden on rate and tax payers by utilising a resource (hunters) that do not cost and provide the exact same service as professionals. ANd if there was a requirement for an increase in the number of professional shooters where do you think they will get them all from? The Greens party members?
Pigs should be eliminated in a humane manner, not as entertainment for retarded machos. The dogs also suffer incredible injuries from this alleged sport.
Please stop these gun-toting hooligans.
What is this humane manner that you think should be used? Please describe how it works and what costs are involved in doing it.
By the way I’m not some retarded marcho as you call hunters, I generally hunt for 3 reasons, 1 for food, 2 for livestock protection, 3 for Flora/Fauna protection.
You call it entertainment, I call it doing the right thing by the environment.
Thanks for your time and please stop insulting people, we don’t denegrate you for your views and opinions, we are all mature people, please respect other peoples opinions, we may not agree with each other but at least try and be civil and pleasant about it and stop resorting to what can only be considered something a person with a low level of intelligence would resort to.
Fran, Pig hunters that use dogs don’t use guns there for are not gun toting hooligans.
We are all doing what we can Fran, thanks for the note. In particular I am calling on the Minister this week to ensure that these permits to hunt with packs of pig dogs are not issued in the name of Forests NSW.
So David, how do you propose to control feral animals?
It is a pretty straight forward question mate, surely you have the answers at hand?
I and others would be interested to see what ideas you have come up with to solve the problem of feral animals in Australia.
It would also be of interest to people as to what the costs involved in implementing your ideas and any ongoing cost on a yearly basis would also be of interest to me and I’m sure others here as well.
Thanks David
i support the game council
so what is crueler, a well placed bullet or a slow lingering death courtesy of d180?, whats better for the economy ie much needed infastructure such as hospitals etc. Correct me if im wrong but dosnt baiting etc COST the government money, where as hunters PAY the government for the privilige, so why take away the game council?, it would seem just on an economic note alone to be a very backward step, although that seems to be the greens way, who gives a toss of what effects they cause as long as they can use soft fuzzy stories to get poor uneducated lemmings on side. For christ sake give all the facts before using the small fuzzy argument
I have been a long term green supporter and have actively participated in many anti logging protests and the Franklin river campaign but I simply can not support this. I hunt to feed my family. I hunt because it is in my heritage and because I believe it is a far more natural way of life.
Stick to the real issues- protect the environment – or you will lose my support.
Well suprize. I am a professional Government contract shooter. It is interesting see comments above that my bullets are humane yet Game councils shooters bullets are not, funny thought bullets are bullets. The Game council has successfully readicated an enormous amount of feral animals to save native enviroments and animals. This is just the usual ignorant waffle from bias individuals that have no idea what they are talking about. Get rid of the Game Council nay expand it to national Parks under controled conditions very successfull in SA SAVE OUR NATIVES
Gun toting hooligans???
Wow, all those years at university and all the lives I have saved with Medecins Sans Frontieres to be called a hooligan. Well I guess you can’t please everyone.
I support the Game Council.
Here we go again, miss-informed dribble from the greenies. Made up wild claims as per the norm. You do realise that the average joe public is not as thick as you lot!
So you would rather see them poisoned which in return will kill anything that eats them? (Wedge Tailed Eagle) Shot from helicopters that have a high rate of wounding?( Look at the deer culling program in Vic) Trapped in cages for long periods of time?(belting there heads against the cage) And all this at the tax payers expense. Because that’s what the government will do to control them. Hunting pigs with dogs may not be the most humane method but it is effective in controlling them and more effective than shooting them. State Forests, National Parks and surrounding farm land would be over run and not to mention the destruction that they will cause.
I fully support the Game Council. I shiver at the thought of Green management of the feral animal problem. They’d probably advocate castrating the millions of feral pigs in Australia. I’ll have to buy some popcorn to watch that comedy show.
The Game Council provides a vital function for control of feral pest species within Australia. I am not sure where people get the impression that all shooters are amateur rednecks running around with guns. Myself and all the other shooters & hunters I know are very careful. We ensure clean kills without undue suffering and we actually get out there and try and make a difference for the native animals of Australia. You may not like what we do by the same token you may not like the job of a garbage man but in the same way we take out the trash and do the job others would shy away from.
I agree with Dale, I think the Game Council is a good idea and helps out the environment.
Fran, I’m afraid you have been mis-informed. Pig doggers are not, as you most eloquently stated “gun-toting hooligans” they actually carry knives not guns. As far as the most humane way to kill feral animals (and you can’t “control” feral animals any other way) a bullet is the quickest and most humane way to do it.
I don’t understand David’s comment “While feral animals do pose a serious threat to native ecosystems in national parks and within state-owned reserves, it does not follow that any measure which kills them is therefore useful.”
Would you care to enlighten me on how to “control” an animal that destroys ecosytems and kills native animals, without killing it!
Some people do not have access to private property to hunt on and state forests are their only option. Humans have always been hunters and the Greens want to take away take away their rights to hunt. Shame on you David.
I hope that you start re-education programs for the pigs to teach them not to destroy habitat and native species.
I have found a stern talking to works wonders! Has an animal whisperer ever been considered?
Go David and team.
Hi David,
After reading the proposal on your page, am I to believe you are saying that the greens are for animal cruelty and eradication of all wild animals, including natives, by indiscriminately poisoning them with 1080?
That’s the only viable alternative to selectively hunting introduced pests.
Have you ever seen an animal that has been poisoned by this stuff? I have seen several native animals die in what looked like an extremely painful way from 1080 poisoning.
I’m sure, since it’s animal welfare you have in mind, you have a much more humane way of controlling feral pest species which destroy our native wildlife.
Can you please let me know how the Greens propose to control introduced pest species more humanely, while not harming our native animals?
If you have no viable alternative to controlling introduced pests, why are the Greens even attempting to abolish the most effective way to target only pest species while keeping our native wildlife safe? Are you even really environmentalists if you are suggesting indiscriminate destruction of our native animals, and causing severe damage to the ecosystem?
It’s well known that your party is completely opposed to firearm ownership, but the game council and its members are doing a great job for the Australian environment, and paying for the privilege. Your proposal makes no sense.
I support what the game council is doing, we need to control feral animals, and quite simply shooting them is by far the most humane way of doing it. I suppose we could go back to the old way of poisioning them if that somehow suits you better, but it is a very slow and agonising death waiting for the stomach and organs too slowly turn to mush!
What do you think the professional shooters do – they don’t cuddle them they shoot them, just the same as the hunters who have Game Council Licenses do! Hunters don’t go out to inflict pain and suffering unnecessarily they do it as humainly as possible on the whole, yes sometimes things don’t go to plan, thats life, happens in all aspects of life, no one is perfect, they also save the Tax Payers millions upon millions of $$$$ each year, that would other wise have to be funded by you the tax payer.
Not to mention saving the Eco System from mass destruction from things like uneccessary soil degredation, to defoliation of large tracts of forest that other wise would happen over time if the feral animals were left uncontrolled.
What control measure do you propose be used David?
I and others would like to know your ideas on how to control them? It would be nice if you could respond to few simple questions, how would you solve the feral animal problem and what $$$$ are involved in achieving your ideas?
So far it costs very little to the Tax Payer – what costs are involved with your plan?
Thankyou.
Every Australian knows wildlife need our protection, except of course the Greens, they now want to SAVE THE FERALS!
Hunting works, history proved how effective hunting is to reducing species numbers countless times. In addition, eliminating ferals at zero cost or time to the tax payer? My god it’s a gift.
Pity Shoebridge & Co are too busy playing with the fairies. How stupid can these people really be?
David Shoebridge = totally un-informed joke. Please tell us all how to control a feral animal without killing it. The absolute silence is deafening!!
Thankyou greenies for once again showing everyone how uneducated and dis-located from the real natural world you all are. The Game Council and hunters I salute you for doing a great job.
I think the Game Council is a good idea and helps out the environment.
Just what humane method do the Greens propose using to control feral pigs, foxes and wild dogs?
Poison that takes days to achieve an agonizing and cruel death?
Castration of all the males?
The Pill
Education courses?
Typical Greens’ reaction. I agree with Machine, give those piggies and other ferals a good stern talking to after all what are they thinking acting like pigs.
Seriously though this country has gone soft, if it went the Greens’ way we would be overrun with ferals and there would be no native animals or national parks for anyone to enjoy.
Boars destroy and kill Thousands of Australian marsupials every day,like the Bilby ,spotted quoll, wombats, snakes , mice , emu,ect.JUST look at how big boars get 100kg plus,they get that fat from eating all of the above,Australias wildlife,thats why bilbys and spotted quolls are becoming EXTINCT.What are you doing about that GREENS?We are loosing our NATIVE wildlife and you are worried about the culprit not the Victim.
GOT Anything to say about that DAVID!
The greens can’t get their way with Green House gases so its pick on the Hunters the Hunters time is it.My family are all from a Farming background and know what these Feral animals can do.We are all Law abiding fire arm owners and do not maime or kill for the fun of it.We Hunt sheep killers and crop destroyers,that all so destroy fences and hard working peoples lively hoods.Have you ever seen a flock of sheep after a dog attack,sheep and lambs running around with their insides hanging out,broken bones and skin haning off and a flock of crows just waiting for their turn.Well I guess not or you would not be trying to stop Hunters who are one group who are willing to go out there and try to stop them.Pigs damage crops and have been known to attack live stock.So I say thankyou to all the hunters out there who are trying to get rid of these pests and save our lively hoods.They are making a differance.I have not heard of any greens come up with any solutions to the problem,other then leave them alone.I cry for the farmers and their poor maimed animals who are under attack from feral animals and now the greens.I support the Game Council 100%…..Thankyou All
This position highlights the difference between the environmental greens and the ideological driven greens- the environmentalists are hunting feral intruders to this beautiful country and the ideologues are chasing inner city votes and media coverage!
cheer’s- dusty!!
So, poisoning them, where it takes 12 to 72 hours to die, is humane? after all, this is the preferred method of culling. Alternatively each and every feral animal can be trapped and euthanised? how would that every be possible, or affordable? Stop manipulating peoples genuine concern for animals and our environment, and their misplaced fear of guns for your political aspirations.
How are funds being diverted from more humane and effective feral animal control methods.
If the other animal control methods are more effective then why are the numbers of feral pests increasing in the state owned reserves. Sounds like a case of the city folk not having any idea of what really happens in the non urban areas. Stick to your cafe lattes
Farmers have serious problems with ferals and to add to it inner city trendys making decisions on issues like this that they know nothing about.
Another point…As I browse the news headlines…
Why don’t the greens concentrate their efforts on things like trying to reduce the daily stabbibngs on Humans and getting knifes off the streets instead of all the hoo-haa about rec hunters reducing feral animal numbers in our SF’s. Seems to me that there are way more important issue’s in our environment than going on about Pigs, foxes etc being culled in the bush.
do you really think the government can tackle the feral problem in nsw? with what money? the game council is set up for the so the hunters have to pay to go hunting not the other way around.
KEEP THE GAME COUNCIL
and let us go into the national parks to tackle there problem with ferals cause no one else wants too.
let the national parks be havens for australian animals not feral ones!!
Good on you David, lets stop people from destroying introduced species at no cost to the government. Lets stop people from helping save native animals from extinction. Infact lets ban hunting all together, we can just get out meat from the super market. No animals are harmed to get the meet they sell, right?
Keep up the good work.
I support the Game Council.
I have seen the operation and control in action and like all Australians see the good in what it does.
Sure there are Yahoo’s in all aspects in life, even here with our Greens. But one bad apple……..
I think David should help make changes that he sees lacking in the Game Council and support this Australian concept.
Jock thats a great idea.
Feral animal control should not be done by the Game Council that has an ongoing interest in the presence of feral animals on public land. Think about it honestly for a moment. The Game Council’s reason for existence is to control and hunt animals. If they successfully eradicate all feral animals in a State Forest their reason for existence ceases to be and the hunters who support them withdraw their support. I have seen comments from hunters on other sites that complain vigorously about the very few occasions when feral animal control has seriously jeopardised the ongoing viability of feral animal herds on public land.
The Greens NSW do not support widespread resort to 1080 poison and fully recognise its cruelty. However we equally do not support pigs being hunted with dogs and bowie knives being subject to unnecessary pain. Nor do I support the current position of effectively unregulated hunters on public land interacting with passive users of state forests who do not appreciate hunters prowling the forests they are in with loaded firearms.
Targeted programmes taking out breeding sows and suckers with professional well regulated hunters is effective and will reduce feral animal numbers with reduced cruelty. However other measures such as biological control agents and bait-delivered fertility control can also be successful in delivering long term solutions to feral animal numbers in our State forests.
Finally the Game Council is far from free – it has cost the public purse more than $13 million in loans and direct funding since it kicked off in 2002. That money should be redirected to professional feral animal control under a government department.
David…Biological control agents? what is that? something with “Bio” in its name seems to me to be a poison. we do not want that in our national parks neither do we want poisonous baits.
David have you ever been to the bush,late at night say 2 am,and seen the wildlife that is around?I have just got back from Lightning Ridge ,and all i saw was boars and foxes.I did not see one wombat,mouse any marsupial to speak of.(saw roos in the day tho)
I can understand you are trying to do what you think is the right thing,but your wrong.It seems you have an agenda here..The Game Council has people out there every day who are giving up there time,paying for there own Firearms,ammo,petrol,ect. to help make a difference.This is a HUGE saving for the Government.
13 + million is chook fee compared to the amount of money you would have to pay for professional hunters to harvest all the feral animals in Australia.
There has got to be 50 million plus feral animals in Australia.So $1 a bullet @ 50 million thats allot of dollars, and we have not even paid the Professional Hunters yet for there time /petrol ect…
Now that makes the Game Councils $13+ million in Cost sound cheap,compared to the $50 plus million.I hope you see my point your argument on cost grounds and poisons/baits make no sense.
Regards
HI DAVID- firstly an apology for personally doubting your ability to post negative comments- well done for wanting to engage!
three years ago the QLD state govt. DPI estimated that Australia wide there was about 24million feral pigs, a figure that will have increased significantly since given the good wet seasons that have provided an increase in habitat and food for the pigs- this is a truly astounding number of just one species of feral pest. any solution has to be by nature of the size of the problem be holistic in nature and show due regard for all forms of control… for example, using 1080 is abhorrent to fair minded people (myself included) but if the circumstances dictate it’s use by virtue of the terrain then it shouldn’t be totally disregarded.
as for the weapon usage- i will always see the benefits for target shooting from the social aspect as well as maintaining hand/eye co-ordination, etc, but if i can also help to reduce the damage to our environment then that is what i will do.
cheer’s- dusty!!
$13 mil is that all its cost the tax payer? Well David I reckon the Gov’t got more than that back in taxes associated with the costs involved in purchasing all the firearms and associated equipment, not to mention all the vehicles and associated costs that come with vehicle ownership, not to mention all the camping equipment and associated benefits that a lot of country towns enjoy because of our efforts thus far.
How many $$$ have the Greens wasted since their begining??? darn site more than $13mil I’ll bet. Another thing mate can you G’tee that no other animals will be adversely affected by the proposed methods you have put forward? How do you stop other animals from eating these fertility baits? If eaten by other animals instead of the target species what affect will it have on their ability to breed, what about prey birds, how will these poisoned carcases affect them?
And as you have already stated you want to use professional shooters – surely the bush walkers will be just as offended and scared by the helicopters with shooters hanging out of them as they would from a shooter hunting on the ground? (funny how you want shooters to do the job yet you don’t like shooters?) strange man really.
So basically you admit that shooters are affective in the control of feral species! So you really are in agreeance with the shooting community – that shooting is an effective method of feral animal control. I also assume you know there are more types of feral animals than Pigs right?
HERE’S A LIST OF THE ONES I CAN THINK OF:
PIGS
DOGS
CATS
RABBITS
FOXES
DEER
GOATS
DONKEYS
HORSES
BUFFALO
Now I have a friend who shot 13 foxes and 2 pigs the other weekend, what did that cost the Australian Tax Payer a great big $0 thats right nothing, infact the Gov’t made money via the taxes he paid for his equipment. How much would it have cost the Tax Payer with your plan? I’ll g’tee a hell of a lot more that $0! From memory it costs approx $300 per deer to be removed from the Royal National Park.
There’s nothing more humane than a bullet, quick effective and very cost effective when the hunters are footing the bill and not the taxpayer!
Thanks for explaining the methods that you want to use, how about providing the costs etc involved and the numbers of people, helicopters, polution figures that will be associated with running helicopters? We don’t want any unceccesary polution now do we!
Can you also supply the numbers of pigs that are taken with knife and hunting dogs? I would be interesting to see how many millions of $$$ it will cost the tax payer to stop this form of hunting.
It is arrogant of you to project your own fears and prejudices onto other bush users. I was hunting deer in a NSW State Forest soon after the introduction of the Game Council and shared a camp ground with many people walking and birdwatching in the adjacent National Park. They were all very interested in the deer we had hanging in the tree next to our camp and were very disappointed that we were not allowed to target the deer they were seeing in the National Park. When people see the tangible benefits of the hunting of ferals, the removal of the feral and that we were taking it home and eating it as well, they see right through the Greens anti-hunter propaganda.
And what are you going to do with all the feral animals that are causing damage in the time it takes for you to train up these expert hunters who are going to kill these pigs for you? There are 125,000 rifle hunters in NSW (NSW Police figures) and many others who use bows or dogs. How many of these professional hunters are you going to need to rid NSW of ferals at the same rate these hunters are? There were over 14,000 Game Council licensed hunters in NSW providing approximately 199,300 hunting days in the 12 months to April 2011. In that same 12 months GC licensed hunters removed over 794,600 feral animals. How much would it cost to replace this work effort with the “professionals” the Greens propose to employ?
Can you point to even one biological fertility control agent and it’s use in a wild pig population anywhere in the world. No you can’t. No bait delivered fertility control agents for any large mammal exist anywhere yet.
The NSW Greens oppose the use of genetic modification and so must be against the development of Virus-vectored immunocontraception. How can you be in favor of biological control agents being developed for pigs in NSW? Seems you are at odds with your party on this one.
Yes in 9 years the Game Council has cost the NSW Gov’ over $13 million in 9 years.
In just the last 2 financial years the GC has SAVED the NSW Gov’ over $4,825,388 over and above the cost of running it.
This is a gross benefit of $10,413,884 minus a cost to Gov’ of $5,588,496.
All these figures are available freely from the Public Benefit Assessment of the GC done by AEC Group Limited for the NSW Government.
For you to continually trot out the line that the GC has a cost to the taxpayers of NSW shows that you are either deliberately disregarding these publicly available figures and are engaging in disingenuous argument for your own ends or you are poor at researching facts and everything you say should be double checked by the voters lest they be misled into believing you have any idea what you are talking about.
Hi David,
I just wanted to ask a couple of questions.
What biological agents are available and effective?
How much will it cost to develop and then impliment a “biological agent”?
How long untill they become available?
How are recreational hunters, like the members of the game council, ‘not’ regulated when compared to professional shooters?
Do pig hunters that use dogs actually use “Bowie Knives” or is that just the scariest knife you could think of?
Have or do hunters ever claim to “eradticate” feral animals or do they talk about reduction and controll of ferals?
Is eradication even possible?
Is there any scientific evidence that erradication of prolific breeding species is possible?
Can you give any eveidence of regular recreational non hunting users of State forests feeling unsafe?
Do you have any numbers on how many non hunters actually use ALL of the state forests?
Are you aware that it costs about $75 PA for the game council membership alone and that GC hunters must have a license, hunting club membership and then a GC lisence two of wich require a test to obtain, then book and register ahead of time to gain access, report on animals taken and seen and report on illegal activities that may be observed?
Again, how are non professional shooters ‘not’ regulated when compared to professional shooters?
David, these are the sort of questions you will need to answer for you to remain credible to any voters.
The sort of rubbish coming from the Greens in the past few years is why myself and others have changed who we vote for. I feel ashamed to have voted green for the past 10 odd years. The people I had supported in this time have shown nothing but feckless environmental activism, have become armchair worriors and then labled me a red neck for shooting while totally forgetting anything this else ACTIVE I have done. There are many ways to skin a cat or even many colours in a rainbow if you prefer.
Thankyou
Ian
David, your arguments are fundamentally flawed on several levels.
Firstly you rely on an opinion piece (further, it appears anonymously) to base your argument against pig-dogging. Do you think it wise to use such a piece as the catalyst for a push to dismantle such a widely supported authority? Any reasonable person would at least attempt to use an article who’s author is known, let alone use an article authored by an authority on the subject!
Next is your assumption that the Game Council somehow controls the hunters that it regulates:
“If they successfully eradicate all feral animals in a State Forest their reason for existence ceases to be”
Who is ‘they’? If you’re referring to the Game Council I imagine they’d be pretty hard pressed to eradicate all feral animals with the few staff they have! If you’re referring to conservation hunters, then you’re mistaken in your belief that they are agents of the Game Council. Essentially the Game Council can only control hunters by putting in place game management measures, but is this a reason to dismantle the authority? I think not!
Then there’s your comment regarding the cost to the NSW tax payers. Well let’s have a fair and reasoned debate and compare the cost per animal removed between the Game Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service. So far, as I understand it, NPWS have been incredibly reluctant to release details that would allow this comparison to be made. Why would this be the case if they were of the belief that they’re doing as good a job, if not better, than the volunteer conservation hunters? I have a sneaking suspicion that this is not the case and that NPWS actually squander tens of millions (maybe even hundreds of millions?) every year with very little to show for it. If the true numbers ever see daylight I think you’ll find that the Game Council is actually a very cheap option with the added bonus of continuing to support regional and rural communities.
Then there is your faith in professional hunters. I have no doubt that they are largely excellent marksmen, however they are not necessarily good hunters. I have heard first hand of the failings of professional hunters in trying to cull deer. In this instance the deer had learnt to recognise the dull drum of the helicopter as a serious threat and, as such, take refuge at the first sound of it. The deer, who had been feeding out in the open, simply moved to heavy cover while the chopper moved over and then returned to the open upon its departure. What is the cost of keeping a chopper in the air? Several thousand an hour? What’s the cost of keeping a volunteer hunter in the scrub for an hour? $0.
Your push to try and dismantle the Game Council (and the ignorance you demonstrate in attempting to do so) only cements the image of the Greens as an out-of-touch, inner-city based party who found their policy on ideology and who have lost sight of the true issue at hand: the environment. Of course I have no issue with this; it makes our task of demonstrating exactly what sort of a threat you people are that much easier!
I have been a hunter for over 35 years, helping both to put food on my families table in a humane way and also help to control the vermin problem we have in our country. I am often stunned to see our uneducated many anti hunting people are when commenting on this subject. people are happy to go down to the local big food chain store and buy their nicely packaged meat and take it home and eat it, not understanding in the slightest what that animal may have gone through in the process of becoming their dinner. There is, in my opinion, no more an humane way to harvest your food than hunting it. The person tacking the animal has the upmost respect for it making sure the shot taken is a keen one resulting in death instantly in most all cases. He or she has to then go through the process of butchering that animal, making it a very hands on and personal experience. A hunter learns that this act of taking game should not be taken for granted, respect and thanks go hand in hand when talking about bringing home game for the table. The other satisfying thing for a hunter is being able to reduce the vermin population and in this way help our native animals gain a stronger foot hold in their
natural habitat. I am not going to go into statistics concerning how many native species we lose each year to vermin such as foxes as I am sure it would bore many of you and is easily found on the net. However I would say that if it was left up to the government we the tax payers would be footing an enormous bill and much wast is involved when left in the hands of government and that’s a fact. Just recently there was a kangaroo cull done on an army facility with 70 roos being shot. When a number of men working on base who were hunters asked if that could butcher a number of them as it seemed a great waste to shoot them and leave them, they were told that it was not policy to allow that. The end result was 70 roos being pushed into a large hole in the ground and covered up. How any “greenie” can see this as except able is beyond me as an ethical hunter. Let’s get some common sence going here for a change and realize that there is nothing whatsoever strange in taking game on a hunt or to cull vermin, this has been going on for ever and it is only recently that people have lost their minds and think it is a
strange happening.
The Game Council is a valuable knowledge, skill and resoource base for private and public land owners and managers that costs the NSW tax payer very little upfront and provides long term ongoing benefits. There are thousands of licenced hunters that are prepared to offer up their knowledge, skill and time to assist in pest animal control and programs that benefit the land and game species. There is not one Green leaning organisation prepared to do the same on a wholistic level. One only has to attend the Aust Wildlife Management Society (AWMS) and see how well regarded a bloke like Tim Low from the Invasive Species CRC is – he was laughed out of last years conference BTW due to his rabbid ramblings. The most hillarious thing in this whole discussion about the Game Council is that the rabbid Greens and the Game Council are both trying to attack the same problem – excessive impacts by non-native speicies – yet there is only one group who are displaying a pragmatic approach and community based thinking …and it ain’t the Greens and their supporters!
The Greens irrational hatred of the Game Council casts a slur on the many law-abiding migrants who have a long tradition of hunting and consumption of game meat. It is a foolish waste of deer and other game species to have expensive government helicopter drops of poisonous carrots that kill slowly, including non-target species and leave carcases rotting on the ground. Please reconsider your policies.
David are you on holidays mate?Seems to be alot of informed Farm Owners and primary producers who have a number of Questions they want answered.David can you respond to our concerns please?
I Would have no problem with the game council structure if it suitably sruitinised its hunters and made them sit a mor reputable exam other than the R license which any tom, dick or harry could do without any level of experience. The GC was conducting these tests at the caravan and camping show in sydney of late and their staff were publicly helping their clients with the answers – this is not credible. Hunters working with the professional organisations makes sense but the most important and biggest problem with the Games Council is its employees. Other tan 1 they are all hunters with no background in pest control or science. Infact they got rid of credible staff when they began to ask serious internal quiestions about the appropriateness of GC’s actions. Unlike the Vic, Tas and Queenland models their staff are not hunters they are skilled people. It is clearly outlined in the job description for these people that they must be a hunter. These people should be imparcial and not comprimised in their true regulatory positon by working among their mates. Game council and the anticipated system is a god idea in an integrated sense but the Game Council and its current staff along with their outlantish bullying and aggressive tactics is not a modern day government organisation – so ether the staff should go and be replaced with professionals or get rid of the GC all together
Please tell me what incidents could have been prevented with a higher level of testing. Testing for testings stake sounds very unnecessary and expensive. The system in place has worked very well and is the highest level of testing for hunting in the country. In Victoria there is no testing and I can even hunt many national parks after paying for the game license.
David,
I think that you should bring your attention to the genuine reasons for firearms licenses for recreational hunters under the Games Council and the legitimacy of their undertakings.
The NSW Firearms laws stipulate that for license holders with the genuine reason of rec hunting/vermin control they can only use that license on RURAL land where they have the permission of the landholder. Only professional shoters with highly restrictive and specially aproved licenses can shoot on NON RURAL lands. I am sure if you look hard enough you will find games council sanctioned undertakings/events using recreational hunters on land that is NOT rural.
@Games Council Opponent – thanks for this pointer. We will chase this detail down. We do keep a weather eye on the licensing conditions.
Hi David, You should also be aware that the Game Council were at the last Caravan and Camping show at Ros Hill. They had a stand which no one could miss. They were promoting their gun/hunting culture in an environment that has always been family friendly and orientated around caravan and camping. I did look at the site with some dosgusted interest but most concerningly was that people could undertake an R license test with full assistance of the Game Council Staff. I note with particular interest one of their staff stating to a visitor that shooting pigs is “Awesome” and that there is nothing more “satisfying”. Yet another example of a VERY VERY poor government authority acting in a completely innaperopriate manner. Are they a regulator or club that needs to promote a certain culture to maintain membership. I think the later is more evident. Abolish the game council.
@John, thanks for this first hand information. This is quite extraordinary behaviour from a State government official. I would rather we paid people to go out and tell families that public education was “awesome.” Please do keep in touch on this.
David,
In reading the July issue of the Asutralian Shooter Page 28 i noticed an advertisement for the Asustralian Deer Association Hunting and outdoor expo which is on 6-7 August 2011 at Morayfield QLD. I noticed with disgust that the NSW Government and the NSW Games Council is sponsoring the event. Firstly i question the ethics of a NSW Gov authority sponsoring an interstate event and secondly the Games Council ongoingly pushing an american styled gun culture in this country. I am an avid shooter myself with a profession in the Biodiversity area and i absolutely dispise the games council with a passion. They are not a modern government regulatory body. they are an established and paid entity of mates looking after mates. Just get rid of them and do NSW a favour. Keep up the good work.
@concerned resident Yes the Game Council do represent one quite extreme end of the shooting fraternity and why on earth is the NSW government sponoring a Qld event? We will look into it – but I will not just yet subscribe to the Australian Shooter.