Thousands support hunting feral game in State Forests
A PETITION put before Queensland parliament to legislate the hunting of feral game in State Forests has been backed by more than 13,000 people as the proposal draws to a conclusion in less than a month.
The proposed three-year trial would see the sunshine state adopt the same legislation currently in place in NSW and Victoria which have been proven to be economically successful.Daniel Boniface – who is studying a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and is a recreational hunter – put forward the petition last year and is overwhelmed by the positive response leading up to its conclusion.
The Courier-Mail first broke the story in September, and since then Mr Boniface has received double the number of signatures, reaching 13,388 people who are campaigning for the legislation.
“It’s obvious, to me anyway, that if we took a more open-minded and accepting approach to hunting in Queensland, including in that public land access than the economic benefits would be fantastic,” Mr Boniface said.
He said he has recently garnered the support from peak bodies such as Shooters Union and the Australian Deer Association.
Currently, hunting in Queensland is limited to feral animals on private property with the landowner’s permission to hunt – the petition is seeking legislation on hunting feral species including deer, goats, pigs, foxes, feral dogs and feral cats in State Forests.
A recent report coming out of NSW titled NSW Primary Industries: Performance, Data & Insights 2018 revealed the total economic contribution of hunting in NSW was estimated to be in excess of $1.8b.
“Expenditure by hunters supports many business, especially in regional NSW, including outdoor and camping products, specialist hunting stores and tourism related business (fuel, food and accommodation),” the report detailed.Mr Boniface said the proposal would not only boost profit and help regional Queensland, it would protect native wildlife and national parks from the devastation caused by feral animals.
“I’m hugely passionate about our ecology and our wildlife because 80 per cent of our ecology is entirely unique to Australia, yet our extinction rate since we started documenting extinction events is probably the worst in the world,” he said.“So controlling those species by any means available to us that is cost effective and readily available is of paramount importance, and that’s one of the key reasons.”
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/thousands-support-hunting-feral-g... NSW and VIC allow hunting ferals in state forests no innocent bystanders shot by licensed hunters.
Not allowing hunters to target ferals in state forests gives these ferals a sanctuary to increase their numbers and eradicate native species.
Not all hunters in NSW use firearms there are many who use bow and arrow along with pig dogs.