Urgent! Stop Recreational Hunting Bill

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URGENT - PLEASE ACT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

The NSW Shooters Party has introduced a Bill into the NSW Parliament that if passed will see national parks opened up to recreational hunting, legalised hunting of native animals, and the designation of private game reserves where animals will be fenced in for easy targeting.

The Bill seeks to regress conservation efforts in NSW, and in many ways proposes serious risks not only to native wildlife and the pristine qualities of national parks, but also to public safety and civil liberties.

This Bill could be debated in Parliament as early as tomorrow.

Already there is talk of deals being done between the NSW Government and the Shooters Party that may see the passage of at least some provisions in the Bill. It is essential that opposition to this Bill, in its entirety, is registered with the Government urgently.

Action:

Write to the Hon. Carmel Tebbutt, Minister for Climate Change and Environment at dp.office@tebbutt.minister.nsw.gov.au

Ask that the NSW Government oppose all aspects of this Bill and reject it in its entirety. Send copies of your letter to the Hon. Catherine Cusack, Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability at catherine.cusack@parliament.nsw.gov.au and NSW Premier Nathan Rees at thepremier@www.nsw.gov.au

Points to make in your letter:

1. Recreational hunters must never be allowed access to conservation lands managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. National parks are highly bio-diverse havens for native species and hunters must not be given free reign within any designated protected areas. National parks are also heavily frequented by members of the public, and allowing recreational hunting in these areas brings up a suite of public safety issues.

2. Recreational hunters must not be permitted to shoot native animals under any circumstances. While most other States have moved to phase out the antiquitous practice of duck hunting, this Bill is essentially proposing its reintroduction. Other native fauna such as galahs, corellas, and kangaroos are also proposed as permissible game. There is no possible justification for the rampant hunting of native species, and the proposals to advocate these activities must be vehemently opposed.

3. Contrary to claims by the Game Council, there is no reputable evidence to suggest that the ad hoc hunting of feral animals by recreational shooters in any way advances moves to control their spread. In contrast, the paths and roads that will be newly cut through national parks as hunting access is increased, and the use of hunting dogs, will further risk the spreading of feral animals into new areas.

4. Private game reserves must remain illegal in NSW. These are essentially “canned hunting” reserves where animals are enclosed within areas, with no means of escape, and where they can be easily trapped and killed. These facilities have been the cause of widespread political activism and public aversion in the United States and South Africa. They are cruel and unnecessary and a pitiful way for “hunters” to make an easy kill.

5. The provisions making it an offence for any member of the public to approach hunters shooting in declared areas are absurd. It is the public and private landholders who face ongoing threats of intimidation and invasion of privacy from hunters who routinely jump fences and use firearms in dangerously close proximity to farm buildings and rural residences.

Please send Humane Society International (HSI) copies of any responses you receive.

Further information on HSI’s campaigns at www.hsi.org.au