Bold new national park plan to hunt invasive species: 'We need all hands on deck'
An Aussie politician is calling for shooters to be allowed into NSW national parks to kill feral animals like pigs and foxes. The proposal would be an extension of a bounty system floated by NSW Premier Chris Minns this week, which sparked a polarised response.
Regional NSW MP Helen Dalton said farmers were struggling to combat invasive species that breed on public land and then wander into their properties, destroying land and attacking livestock. She's shared shocking footage showing a trap that filled with feral pigs after it was placed on a Riverina property near a national park.
'We're losing the battle… we need all hands on deck,' she told Yahoo News, before adding, 'I think it's time they allowed recreational shooters in national parks.'
To avoid putting the lives of walkers and sightseers at risk, Dalton, who was formerly with the Shooters and Fishers Party, said the parks could be temporarily closed over a weekend to give hunters access. She doesn't imagine shooters would make a lot from bounties, but the extra cash would help cover the cost of their bullets and fuel.
Under her plan, shooting invasive species would complement other control measures like trapping and poisoning. Recreational shooting in national parks was trialled by the Coalition in 2014, but it sparked a fierce backlash from conservationists, and no longer occurs.
'We used to shoot back in the day, we kept them under control. But the government has tightened the laws,' she said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the NSW government said it is 'open to considering all options' including bounties, but it confirmed there are no plans to lift restrictions on recreational shooting in national parks.
'We need to do more and we need all hands on deck for this problem. No one is saying that bounties are the sole solution here. They aren't a silver bullet. But what they are is another tool in the toolbox,' the spokesperson said.
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The Invasive Species Council, an independent group that provides specialist advice on the removal of feral animals, has dismissed the premier's bounty plan saying there's simply no evidence that they work.
Its CEO Jack Gough said if the government was serious about combatting the problem it would follow the advice of its own Natural Resources Commission that delivered a report to the premier a fortnight ago.
The report found invasive species already cost the state's economy $1.9 billion annually, but this could balloon to $29.7 billion in just five years if the problem isn't addressed. The report suggested an evidence-based approach to fighting the problem, a move away from 'short-term' strategies, and more coordination between landholders and government.
'The idea that bounties will have any impact on feral animals is Alice in Wonderland stuff,' he told Yahoo.
'There's not a single example that shows bounties actually reduce populations on a landscape scale.'
Victoria has run a bounty system since 2011, and in that time Agriculture Victoria has collected over 1.1 million fox scalps.
When the NSW Nationals proposed introducing a similar system in July last year, Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty dismissed the idea saying they have "consistently failed" since the 1800s. It remains unclear why the Minns Government has had a sudden change of heart.
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Gough argued the new bounty plan is less about good policy and more about stitching up support from the Shooters and Fishers Party in the Upper House.
'They are deciding to go directly against expert advice… this is on the agenda purely because the Labor Party wants to do a dirty deal,' he said.
The Premier's office did not respond to a question about this claim from Yahoo News.
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