Duck Day at Natimuk Lake; Game Council report completed; national gun crackdown results; five years for role in gun theft; smokin’ safari; anti-gun groups in trouble.
Duck Day at Natimuk Lake
Do you want more ducks? That’ll be one of the subjects covered at Wimmera, Victoria this Sunday, 23 June. Organised by the Wimmera CMA, the event’s speakers include Field & Game Australia CEO Rod Drew, local landholder Wayne Caldow, local bird enthusiast and WCMA employee Jon Starks, and other Wimmera CMA staff. “This event is aimed at informing landholders with wetlands of what they can do to promote healthy and productive duck habitat to ensure good duck numbers into the future as well as opportunities that are available for landholders to work with Wimmera CMA in achieving this,” organisers say. You must register online by Friday, 21 June. FGA has more information, too.
Game Council report completed
The Dunn report into the governance of the NSW Game Council has been completed and provided to NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell, and it is expected to go before cabinet on Monday. Meanwhile, the government has been “considering its response” and will release both the report and response at the same time.
National gun crackdown results
Operation Unification, the national crackdown on illegal firearms conducted by police forces from around Australia, resulted in the seizure of 110 guns. The two-week operation, conducted from 24 May to 7 June, also resulted in 87 searches of premises, 52 arrests and 104 gun-related charges being laid. A quarter of the firearms came from NSW. Police are still following up on leads all over the country, and more arrests and seizures are being reported. On Wednesday this week NSW police arrested a 51-year-old man after allegedly discovering a number of unregistered and prohibited firearms in his Acacia Gardens home. He was charged with 28 gun-related offences. In Queensland on Thursday, a 55-year-old man and 39-year-old were charged after Category A, C and shortened firearms were seized from a Park Ridge house.
Five years for role in gun theft
A Queensland court has sentenced Adam Bowman-Sinclair, 26, to five years in jail for helping arrange a home invasion aimed specifically at sourcing firearms for an outlaw motorcycle gang. He was also convicted of an assault and robbery, an attempted robbery and being in possession of firearms. During the home invasion, a 49-year-old woman was tied up after the thieves threatened to shoot her. Bowman-Sinclair had told the thieves that the house had firearms in it and provided a map of the interior.
A smokin’ safari
Promoted as the “bold smoke for the adventurous aficionado,” Safari Cigars have just been launched. A collaboration between two prominent safari hunters, Doug Giles and Brandon Vallerini, and an established cigar maker, the line includes cigars named .375 Mag, .450/.400, .500 Nitro, .600 Nitro and Wildman. The .500 Nitro, as an example, is described as an “untamed puro [that] creates a deeper full-bodied smoke with an enticing aroma and taste,” which sounds a bit like shooting a blackpowder rifle. “Enjoy these earthy cigars that appeal to the hunter within,” the company encourages you. You’d want to enjoy them – the .500 costs $US190 for a box of 20, or $US220 for the forthcoming boxed pack.
Anti-gun groups in trouble
Anti-gun groups at home and overseas have this week come under fire for embracing the ‘bad guys’ in their cause. While not directly a gun-related issue, the Greens have been exposed for inviting a prominent Holocaust denier to join them on a pro-Palestinian event. The invitation, which MP David Shoebridge said was “inadvertently” issued by the NSW Greens, was subsequently withdrawn. In the US, the anti-gun organisation run by New York’s mayor, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, solemnly read out the name of Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev as they paid tribute to victims of gun violence. MAIG apologised, saying it was a mistake.
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