Bounties back in vogue to cull feral goats, cats, pigs
Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests.
NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations.
It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp.
"It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio.
"We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation.
"We can be doing far better on it."
Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW.
Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state.
Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says.
The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent.
NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge.
The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons.
Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals.
The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work.
Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic.
Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests.
NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations.
It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp.
"It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio.
"We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation.
"We can be doing far better on it."
Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW.
Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state.
Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says.
The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent.
NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge.
The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons.
Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals.
The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work.
Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic.
Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests.
NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations.
It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp.
"It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio.
"We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation.
"We can be doing far better on it."
Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW.
Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state.
Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says.
The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent.
NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge.
The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons.
Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals.
The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work.
Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic.
Bounty hunters may be unleashed on feral cats and goats for the first time in years as a state government looks to "novel" ways to deal with pests.
NSW Premier Chris Minns on Tuesday threw his weight behind bounties, saying the state has to do better to control feral pest populations.
It comes after Victoria's fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp.
"It's about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks," Mr Minns told Triple M Coffs Coast radio.
"We should be open to bounties and other things, because we've got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation.
"We can be doing far better on it."
Nearly $1 billion is also being spent on prevention and protection against biosecurity threats in NSW.
Invasive species are the highest impact contributors of extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state.
Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says.
The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent.
NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida's famed Python Challenge.
The annual 10-day competition - which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It - draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons.
Mr Borsak's proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals.
The CSIRO's most recent best practice advice on pest management however says bounties rarely work.
Animal welfare groups oppose the practice while the Invasive Species Council compares it to "jailing the occasional dealer" in a drug epidemic.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
3 hours ago
- ABC News
NSW considering bounty for hunting feral animals
It's estimated there's anywhere between 3 to 25 million feral pigs in Australia. The Australian Government considers them environmental and agricultural pests and hunters play a role in reducing feral animal populations. Last week, the New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns sparked debate about the introduction of a bounty for hunters on feral animals. The Premier says a system where shooters are paid a small fee for each feral animal killed could be a "novel way" to reduce their populations, which he believes have "taken over a lot of parks." He also indicated that it could encourage recreational shooters who might have been deterred by rising fuel and food costs. He cited Victoria's fox bounty scheme, which paid around $14-$15 per fox in 2022, as a potential model. New South Wales Independent for Murray, Helen Dalton spoke with ABC NewsRadio's Rachel Hayter.
West Australian
7 hours ago
- West Australian
Fireworks on way to ensure Territory Day isn't a fizzer
A convoy of trucks is carting more than 100 tonnes of fireworks to ensure a territory's annual celebration of self-governance isn't a fizzer. For one day a year Northern Territorians are allowed to buy and set off their own fireworks to celebrate Territory Day, affectionately dubbed Cracker Night. But NSW authorities risked putting a dampener on the 2025 festivities after seizing the explosive cargo that was ordered for the big event on July 1. In the NT fireworks have become synonymous with the day that marks the anniversary of its self-government in 1978. Territorians are legally allowed to set them off for a five-hour period from 6pm on July 1. But the fireworks shipment had entered NSW unauthorised and was seized by the state's workplace safety watchdog, a NSW government spokesman confirmed on May 16. "While use of these fireworks is legal in the NT, they are not legal to sell and use in NSW," he said. To preserve the sparkling overhead display NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro went over the heads of state bureaucrats and engaged directly with NSW Premier Chris Minns and Queensland counterpart David Crisafulli. On Wednesday she confirmed negotiations had been successful and the trucks had left NSW bound for the NT via Queensland. "It's so important that Territorians get to celebrate their way, and not be held ransom by interstate decisions," she told NT News. "New South Wales and Queensland bureaucrats may have done their best to hold things up, but nothing gets in the way of Territory Day." She thanked the two state premiers for their help. In 2024, a 23-year-old man severed his arm and a 58-year-old man suffered an injury to his groin in a fireworks mishap, among a series of Territory Day incidents.
Perth Now
7 hours ago
- Perth Now
Fireworks on way to ensure Territory Day isn't a fizzer
A convoy of trucks is carting more than 100 tonnes of fireworks to ensure a territory's annual celebration of self-governance isn't a fizzer. For one day a year Northern Territorians are allowed to buy and set off their own fireworks to celebrate Territory Day, affectionately dubbed Cracker Night. But NSW authorities risked putting a dampener on the 2025 festivities after seizing the explosive cargo that was ordered for the big event on July 1. In the NT fireworks have become synonymous with the day that marks the anniversary of its self-government in 1978. Territorians are legally allowed to set them off for a five-hour period from 6pm on July 1. But the fireworks shipment had entered NSW unauthorised and was seized by the state's workplace safety watchdog, a NSW government spokesman confirmed on May 16. "While use of these fireworks is legal in the NT, they are not legal to sell and use in NSW," he said. To preserve the sparkling overhead display NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro went over the heads of state bureaucrats and engaged directly with NSW Premier Chris Minns and Queensland counterpart David Crisafulli. On Wednesday she confirmed negotiations had been successful and the trucks had left NSW bound for the NT via Queensland. "It's so important that Territorians get to celebrate their way, and not be held ransom by interstate decisions," she told NT News. "New South Wales and Queensland bureaucrats may have done their best to hold things up, but nothing gets in the way of Territory Day." She thanked the two state premiers for their help. In 2024, a 23-year-old man severed his arm and a 58-year-old man suffered an injury to his groin in a fireworks mishap, among a series of Territory Day incidents.
