Pig dog hunting using packs of up to five dogs to bite and maul feral pigs is commencing today in Nundle, Hanging Rock and Tomalla State Forests. This practice directly contravenes the Codes of Practice for the humane culling of pigs that have been developed by the Department of Primary Industries.
NSW Greens MP and Forestry spokesperson David Shoebridge said:
“Primary Industries Minister Hodkinson is delivering for the Shooters Party
by allowing this cruel practice to start today, despite widespread concern
about animal cruelty including from Animals Australia and the RSPCA.
“Every single one of the hunters with packs of pig dogs out in our state
forests over the coming weeks has written permission from or on behalf of
Forestry NSW yet the minster has refused to intervene to stop the practice.
“The practice of using packs of dogs to bite and maul feral pigs is unnecessarily cruel and makes a mockery of the Shooter’s claims to engage in ‘conservation hunting’.
“Recreational hunters have no interest in effectively removing feral animals
from public land because of their competing desire to leave enough breeding
animals to ensure they can continue to hunt into the future.
“The Game Council,the Shooters-run statutory body undertaking the hunts, is
an embarrassing drain on the public purse and it needs to be shut down.
“Feral animal control should be conducted by professionals using the most
humane methods possible, not a bunch of gung-ho amateurs out to get some for some blood-sports on a weekend trip.
“Minister Hodgkinson needs to step in, enforce the Codes of Practice for the
humane treatment of animals and put an end to this cruel practice in our
public forests.” Mr Shoebridge said.
Pig dogging is not cruel. More public lands opened to more types of hunting means more licences which means less drain on the public purse. The RSPCA and Animals Australia are not conservation organisations they are animal rights groups. Only legal hunters have permission to be in the forests and that will force out the illegal gung-ho amatuers that concern you. Moral issues of cruelty have nothing to do with the promotion of conservation hunting. When hunters kill pigs they are removed from the environment which has an impact at a local level. Suggesting that pig hunters don’t want to kill pigs is contrary to your objection which doesn’t make any sense. Professional feral animal controllers are used to kill pigs and so are baiting and trapping campaigns which are a drain on the public purse. They are usually conducted after a massive build up of ferals has been allowed to occur by being protected on public lands.
As a government employee responsible for pest animal management clearly you have absolutely no idea what you are speaking about. Infact hunters create alot of problems for us by intafeering, blocking and recklessly damaging strategic pest control programs. Another problem – how do hunters explain the explosion espansion of Pigs and Wild Deer now spread right across the state – the fact is Jason that relocation by hunters is the reason, particularly for wild deer. Whilst hunting may be your sport hunters remain amatuars and for certain types of hunting such as pig dogging there are serious welfare concerns and larger problems at stake.