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Foxrr · March 10, 2009, 10:55 AM

The situation in Australia is darn complex really. I think we have governments which are starting to realise the value of recreational shooters as one of the tools to fight the feral problem, with a game council started up in New South Wales to oversee management of deer populations and work a trial scheme to allow hunting ferals in some reserves.

Here in West Oz, the Dept. of Environment and Conservation has occasionally used rec shooters to assist in culls. The move to legitimise rec shooters as a conservation tool has been slow but is grinding on quietly, all the time pushing the proverbial uphill against both animal rights activists and plain ignorant city folks who would suffer culture shock if they were to spend more than a few days on a farm or in the red dirt country.

Wildboarz is right. Picture a landmass that's somewhere around the size of the U.S. The state of Western Australia occupies somewhere around a third of that landmass. Yep, much, much bigger than Texas. The majority of it is semi-arid-to-desert country. How do we make it pay its way? It's super-rich in minerals.

In Westoz, the so-called wheatbelt extends in a foot-shape in the western corner of the state from a few hundred miles north of the capital, Perth out two-fifty or so miles east, then about four hundred miles south along the state's south coast. It's a small bit of a humungous area. A lot of the rest is given over to sheep and cattle raising but it's mostly semi-arid country, pretty marginal.

But it's ALL feral heaven, including the cropping country! Trouble is, the only dangerous species in all that lot are hogs and maybe if you get close enough, wild dogs. Buffs are dangerous but there aren't many of them in Westoz. Everything else that is actually dangerous is fully protected indigenous wildlife like snakes and crocs.

So there's never been a huge perceived need in city-Joe's mind of the need for widespread ownership of firearms in Australia. And so..the feral problem.

March 10, 2009, 10:55 AM	#43
Foxrr Member Join Date: March 5, 2009 Location: Western Australia Posts: 48	The situation in Australia is darn complex really. I think we have governments which are starting to realise the value of recreational shooters as one of the tools to fight the feral problem, with a game council started up in New South Wales to oversee management of deer populations and work a trial scheme to allow hunting ferals in some reserves. Here in West Oz, the Dept. of Environment and Conservation has occasionally used rec shooters to assist in culls. The move to legitimise rec shooters as a conservation tool has been slow but is grinding on quietly, all the time pushing the proverbial uphill against both animal rights activists and plain ignorant city folks who would suffer culture shock if they were to spend more than a few days on a farm or in the red dirt country. Wildboarz is right. Picture a landmass that's somewhere around the size of the U.S. The state of Western Australia occupies somewhere around a third of that landmass. Yep, much, much bigger than Texas. The majority of it is semi-arid-to-desert country. How do we make it pay its way? It's super-rich in minerals. In Westoz, the so-called wheatbelt extends in a foot-shape in the western corner of the state from a few hundred miles north of the capital, Perth out two-fifty or so miles east, then about four hundred miles south along the state's south coast. It's a small bit of a humungous area. A lot of the rest is given over to sheep and cattle raising but it's mostly semi-arid country, pretty marginal. But it's ALL feral heaven, including the cropping country! Trouble is, the only dangerous species in all that lot are hogs and maybe if you get close enough, wild dogs. Buffs are dangerous but there aren't many of them in Westoz. Everything else that is actually dangerous is fully protected indigenous wildlife like snakes and crocs. So there's never been a huge perceived need in city-Joe's mind of the need for widespread ownership of firearms in Australia. And so..the feral problem.