http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2005/ ... 22889.htmlA new aim for sporting shooters
By Melissa Marino
Regional affairs reporter
March 29, 2005
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Jack Mustard, 78, known as the doyen of dog trappers in Victoria's north-east, says feral dogs will often kill other animals just for fun.
Photo: Simon O'Dwyer
Shooters are preparing to hunt feral animals in Victoria's national parks to help combat a problem that costs Australia more than $660 million a year.
An unlikely partnership is being forged between the Sporting Shooters Association and Parks Victoria in a bid to control feral animals, particularly pigs and goats, that are threatening several national parks and "biodiversity hotspots".
Trials have been taking place since 2003, when shooters were asked to kill goats eating their way through the Murray Sunset National Park in the state's north-west. The move follows an agreement signed last year between the Australian Deer Association and Parks Victoria for shooters to help control wild deer numbers.
Deer hunting is already allowed in several national parks, including the Alpine National Park and Gippsland Lakes Coastal Park.
In information compiled for The Age, the Department of Sustainability and Environment reported feral animals, including pigs, goats and dogs, were costing the community at least $667.3 million a year.
Topping the list were foxes, with a damage bill of $227.5 million and considered a major danger to native animals including the threatened long-footed potoroo and brush-tailed rock wallaby.
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AdvertisementThe department said pest animals were a major threat to land, ecosystems and water supplies, responsible for the degradation of catchments and rivers, as well as killing livestock and damaging crops.
Sporting Shooters Association Victoria general manager Don Piccolo cited feral pigs, which were devastating delicate desert country, and feral goats, which were voracious eaters, among the main offenders.
Wild dog numbers are also on the rise, according to those who hunt them. Veteran Jack Mustard, 78, dubbed the "doyen" of trappers in Victoria's north-east, says feral dogs do not just kill for food.
"When they kill for the fun of it, well it's not very bloody funny at all," Mr Mustard said.
Mr Piccolo said shooters had to pass a series of tests before they were accredited to cull feral animals. These would include written tests on ethics and animal physiology as well as fitness and marksmanship. "We've got quite a lot of filters," he said.
Mr Piccolo said sporting shooters would work alongside Parks Victoria field officers targeting specific species identified by them during a set period when the parks may be closed to the public.
"It's not something that someone casually wanders into the forest and starts blasting away," he said.
Hunters to Help Cull Ferals in Victoria
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