The Shooters and Fishers Party: NATIONAL PARKS NEEDS TO STOP POISONING ANIMALS.
Robert Borsak from The Shooters and Fishers Party has taken issue with National Park’s feral animal control policy.
rather than summarising Robert’s release I thought I’d just post the whole thing below:
PRESS RELEASE:
Shooters and Fishers Party MLC, Robert Borsak, says the National Parks and Wildlife Service should dump its helicopter gunships and indiscriminate poisoning approach to feral animal control and adopt more effective practical solutions.
Mr Borsak said that for years the Service has had a haphazard approach to feral animal control, and they cannot tell anyone from year to year just what impact they have had on eradicating the pests.
“Shooting pigs from their helicopter gunships can be as inhumane as it is ineffective, and the use of poison in baiting programs probably kills as many native animals as it does ferals.
“Having been in the Riverina at the weekend, I am aware they have just started a five month baiting program in the Werai group of reserves.
“I’m told it’s part of a wider feral pig baiting program, and they’ve advised people on neighbouring properties and Park visitors, to “keep their kids and animals under supervision” between now and the end of June.
“We believe a properly rolled out program of licensed Game Council conservation hunters , at no cost to the Government, could produce better results by way of reducing feral animal populations than is happening now.
“The formula has worked well in State forests and it’s time the Government adopted what it knows is a workable and practical solution, and that is using conservation hunters in National Parks”, Mr Borsak said.
Further Information – The Hon. Robert Borsak, 92303059.
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Category: Hunting and Shooting News, Keith Drain's Column, Politics & Media
SSAA Hunting and Conservation branch has been active for many years in SA national parks with feral animal control. The program has been very successful and its good to see Hon Borsak promoting a similar approach in NSW. After a couple of good seasons feral animals have bred up to high numbers again and poisoning and helicopter gunships are not the answer to control.
30/30 man in SA, Just wondering 30/30 were in SA are you at??
Alby – I’ve lived all over SA except Riverland and KI. Currently near Adelaide, I don’t wish to be too specific as this is a public forum. PC 5606 is very familiar and was on my address for many years.
30/30, I lived south of Adelaide for most of my life before making the move to 5606, As for the ferals there out of control with last years mouse plague here cat and fox numbers are very high. Farmer that have national parks next door to them I think they would be more than happy to have “Conservation hunters” putting a dent in the feral numbers. How do you think we go about starting up this Licensed Game Council conservation hunters in SA or is it running??
Alby – as I said in my Feb 7 post, SA was a pioneer in establishing conservation hunting in National Parks with the SSAA H&C effectively being the Licenced Game Council conservation hunters. I understand their activities included the park in the ranges north of you now, Flinders Ranges, Riverland parks and some other parks throughout the state. The relationship and activities between H&C and Dept Environment has been long and ongoing and any new initiative would seem to be reinventing the wheel and likely to meet with resistance from government. Anyone who wants to get in with hunting national parks in SA should join the H&C. As for forests – can’t ever see it happening and with a sale on the cards even leisure access is likely to be curtailed by the new owners. I agree fox numbers are very high over your way, we spotlighted not far from you a couple of weeks ago and I can’t recall foxes being that prevalent there since the 1960′s. I hope you are getting out regularly and busting a few! Most farmers I know are more than happy to have me on their land doing a bit of conservation hunting.
30/30- been hitting them foxes hard up around the 50 mark now maybe more. I shoot on 4 different farms with my mate, he will shoot rabbits all night long between the two of us farmers like us on there place.
Full time conservation hunting we are.
To quote the Collins Dictionary: a gunship is “an airplane or a helicopter heavily armed with machine guns or with machine guns and cannon, providing air support for ground troops in combat”.
So they are using these to cull feral animals? I agree with the theme of the article but how about we cut back on the Hyperbole, it makes us look like a bunch of “rednecks” (hyperbole intended). As a voter I don’t align myself with a party I like to see what is on offer. This sort of highly exaggerated language designed to strike the emotive side (im just picturing a Cobra Gunship with 20mm cannons gunning down a poor rabbit) turns me off and i was starting to lean towards this party.
Oh C’mon Grover,
You are being a bit precious don’t you reckon?
They are trying to prove a point and lets face it, at the end of the day they are politicians. TSFP will always say it how it is, they always have. If this is the only thing you can ping them for then I’d say you don’t have enough problems.
How does calling a helicopter with shooters in it a gun ship make anyone sound redneck. The whole purpose of that is to use the same sort of terminology as the anti-gunners. I thought it was obvious.