NSW duck hunting; Borsak slams Faerhmann; cruelty exemption ends; land management comments; super trawler backfire; Game Council jobs; record cheetah.
Go north, duck hunters
Victoria’s duck season not enough for you? Want to head north of the border and bag more birds? Then take part in the duck mitigation program in NSW. The NSW Game Council is holding an info night at Abela’s (Frank O’Reilly’s) Gun Shop in Melbourne on Saturday, 6 October, from 9am, with various experts on hand. They reckon the 2012 rice crop is set to be the biggest in years and farmers will need all the help they can get. And you’ll probably get all the ducks you can eat. Contact Game Council area manager Brent Waldron for details: brent.waldron@gamecouncil.nsw.gov.au.
Borsak slams Faerhmann
Shooters and Fishers Party MLC Robert Borsak has hit back at an attack on hunting by Greens MLC Cate Faerhmann, saying that just days after she heard statements from experts about hunting and shooting, she ignored them in a speech in the NSW parliament. “She began a speech in parliament on Tuesday by suggesting that [a proposed hunting] expo, which so far is little more than an idea to stage a game food and photo weekend, would turn the NSW town of Narooma into something akin a gang war in South Central LA,” he said. “It makes us wonder what horrors appear inside a Green’s head.” The full statement is on the SFP website.
Cruelty exemption to go
Indigenous hunters have been exempt from animal cruelty laws under native hunting regulations in Queensland, but new state laws have closed the loophole. The problem was highlighted by recent footage showing Aboriginal people slicing the flippers off a live turtle, and it became an election issue. Indigenous people will now have to hunt humanely, something that is not expected to affect their ability to hunt using most traditional methods.
Public land management submissions released
A large batch of submissions to the NSW inquiry in the management of public land has been released. Sporting Shooter will sift through them, but we have limited time and resources. If you spot any gems in there, let us all know by commenting below. The submissions are here.
Supertrawler laws dangerous?
Fishers opposing the visit to our waters of a supertrawler are celebrating a win after the federal government announced it would legislate to ban the huge ship. However, opposition MP Bob Baldwin has sounded a dire warning about the “arbitrary powers” laid down by the new legislation, which bans “declared fishing activity” but also defines a fishing activity as “an activity that constitutes fishing”. In other words, the government may be able to arbitrarily ban any kind of fishing on a whim. “The Bill will give the minister veto powers to close down commercial and recreational fishing anywhere in Australia at their discretion without consultation,” Mr Baldwin said. It may allow the government to bypass the marine parks process, something that the Greens would push for, and it has led to serious worries about the real motives behind the government’s backflip on the giant trawler’s status. Find out more on the Fishing World website.
Game Council jobs
The NSW Game Council is looking for two new employees. The first position is for a research and education officer to be based in either Bathurst or St Marys, while the second is a temporary position in Tocumwal for a customer service officer. For the details, see the Game Council website.
Record cat
Hunter Johan Van Der Westhuizen took a world-record cheetah last year, raising the bar on the elusive cats with a certified score of 14 12/16. Now the story has been published on the Safari Club International website. The yarn has a bit of everything: a glimpse, days of tracking, a challenging shot and an incredible thunderstorm that washed away the blood trail and almost meant the cat was never found. Read it here.
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