Conservation hunting in State forests
From the Autumn/Winter 2010 edition of Bush Telegraph Magazine.
Game Council’s network of game managers provide an essential statewide compliance and regulatory role to control hunting in forests. Photo courtesy Game Council NSW
The Game Council NSW licensed hunting system has introduced a new category of forest-user to our State forests.
Alongside bushwalkers, mountain bike riders and picnickers, there are now thousands of responsible firearm users and bowhunters sharing the enjoyment of these public lands.
Known as voluntary conservation hunters, this new forest user group is also providing vital environmental benefits to the forest landscape.
These benefits include the removal of game and feral animals from ‘declared’ hunting areas including 13 000 rabbits, 5000 feral goats, 4000 feral pigs and 3000 foxes since hunting began in NSW State forests in 2006.
“The Game Council NSW is the licensing authority, while Forests NSW remain the land managers – it’s a successful partnership that has seen nearly 30 000 game and feral animals removed from State forests with very few problems,” Forests NSW chief executive, Nick Roberts, said.
Today, this system covers a total of 460 declared State forests (covering 2.2 million hectares of land) which also includes the removal of wild deer, hares, wild dogs (not dingoes) and feral cats.
Game Council chief executive officer Brian Boyle says the NSW conservation hunting model has worked brilliantly since its inception.
“Licensed hunters have conducted themselves in an exemplary and unobtrusive manner with other forest users mostly unaware of their presence,” Brian said.
All hunting under the Game Council system is carried out under a Restricted (R-Licence) permit.
These R-Licensed hunters, numbering nearly 10 000, all undergo a world-class accreditation that involves hunter training, firearms and the law, animal welfare, and environmental issues.
Other features of the system include:
- Proposed hunting forests are assessed under Australian Standard Risk Assessment 3460
- Exempted areas include camping grounds, access roads, boundary areas, and established heavily-used walking routes
- Hunting is limited to one hunter per 400 hectares (1000 acres) of available land with all hunters having accreditation under the Game Council licensing system
- Licensed hunters must book their hunt via the Game Council’s written permission system recording which forest they want to hunt in, what type of hunting they are doing, their vehicle details, and if they have dogs with them.
“These restrictions, the most stringent in Australia, ensure that the Game Council is aware of where licensed hunters are at all times,” Brian Boyle said.
“It’s important to understand that hunting is not happening in all State forests, and in those where it is allowed, there are arrangements in place to ensure commonsense protection for other potential forest users.”
The Game Council also has a network of game managers based around major hunting areas of the State, with their work including forest patrols, licence checks, advising hunters on suitable forests for hunting, and being on-the-ground Game Council representatives at shows, expos, and field days.
“Our game managers are involved in compliance operations with local Police which have netted a number of illegal and unlicensed hunters in recent years,” Brian said.
The recent statewide launch of the “Bush Alert” rural reporting crime initiative after a successful two-year trial near Orange is further evidence of Forests NSW and the Game Council’s commitment to catching illegal hunters.
“Our aim is to put the illegal hunters out of business; the future of hunting in State forests in NSW is the Game Council,” Brian said.
David Dixon - Game Council NSW
