Wouldn't Molly have fun. One thing she can't stand is cats. Unfortunately, most of them are bigger than she is and would kill her if she got close enough. Nightmare if we were out there with them prowling around at night. I'd get no sleep.

This is just not a problem re dogs ,the outback is also getting over run with goats,since the goverment slashed these jobs from people who used to trap/control all these feral animals. The farmers around Geraldton in WA were up in arms regarding the damage Emu's were doing to theie crops ,while we were staying there.

The rise in feral animals has risen to plague proportions ever since the the govt decided to demonize those who even think of owning a firearm.

It once was that every farmer/station owner had a rifle in his vehicle as a tool of trade, now it's simply too hard.

The problem won't solve its self, however listen to the racket the tree huggers make when culling programs are introduced, mind you I suspect the problem is pretty much out of control and culling programs will have little affect.

How accurate you are Santa. I've spent the past six years in senior executive positions with a national hunting organisation so have first hand knowledge of the inhibitions of the green brigade (non stop battle with them for the whole period). The ones that really annoyed me, unlike the average greenie that lives in fairyland (I've even been asked why can't we get our meat from the supermarket where no animals are hurt) are the National Parks rangers - the majority of whom are great at determining the size of the problem, but lack the guts to do something positive about it.

Darrell

When I was kid in the late 60's we trapped / shot 2 feral cats that were dragging down newborn lambs,, it was unbelievable they were huge and just killing like foxes,,, just for fun.

Both had teeth about 25mm long and 1 fought like hell in a trap before we shot him,,, he had cleared the blackberry bushes for over 1m around the trap trying to get free.

Before I hear howls of anger re trapping,,, think of multiple 1-10 day old lambs being mauled to death in the night.

The farmer was so pleased we got em.

When ever feral animals are mentioned, firearms are mentioned, as if there is only one answer to the problem. In America there are over 300 million firearms in private hands and yet they still have problems with feral animals. Am I missing something here?

we nearly hit several feral goats last year when we were travelling to broken hill. they were every where..

dazren wrote:

---

Gary wrote.   --- When ever feral animals are mentioned, firearms are mentioned, as if there is only one answer to the problem. In America there are over 300 million firearms in private hands and yet they still have problems with feral animals. Am I missing something here?         

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry Gaz, two completly different situations there ?? you cannot compare the two?? I am not a Hunter, and don't own a rifle, [ but i used to ] Geez i even give a quick death to any fish i catch, There is a place for firearms in civilised society, and shooting feral animals is one of those area's they should be used, It is a much quicker, death than poison, and is more economical and effecient than any other form of eradication, This is not America, and Aussies have a different mindset, so please do not compare  

---

 Well said Dazren.

When i was working over in a mine site across the water from Denham in WA not so long ago , the company that owned the lease on the mine site and that included the two big stations ,( Japan based company ) they had a permit to keep 500 goats ,well that might look good on the paper work submitted to the gov depts, but in a 8 month period that i was there  there was  1000s of goats roaming that area ,and one must remember this is not all that far from heritiage protected coast line and Nation Parks..Not once did i ever see anyone from any gov dept visit and fine or revoke this over seas company's lease regarding these goats destrying every thing .Not just the vegitation but also pig rooting the ground .I had to resign from contracting to this company as they were a law unto them self with no respect for our country or even the Indian Ocean surounding this mine site...I have put a documented report into the fedural gov regarding the practise of this company,but because it guess it brings in revenue it will fall on deaf ears. The other aspect of all this is Dogs are not permitted into National Parks but these ferral animials are doing more harm than a dog on a leash would ever do.

-- Edited by herbie on Wednesday 1st of May 2013 11:41:08 PM

GaryKelly wrote:

---

When ever feral animals are mentioned, firearms are mentioned, as if there is only one answer to the problem. In America there are over 300 million firearms in private hands and yet they still have problems with feral animals. Am I missing something here?

---

All countries have feral pest problems.  Multi-faceted control is best.  Why shouldn't a camper with a pea rifle take rabbits for the pot?  They used to be able to do that.  Or hunters take deer as in Europe?

The only other solution you leave is to extend the highly expensive contractor drops of 1080 poison.  

Maybe some can turn away and not think about what 1080 does to animals. But it does take ages for a deer to die.

We are leaving valuable chemical free meat go to waste and all through hysteria and political correctness.

GaryKelly wrote:

---

Not too keen on campers with pea rifles mistaking me for a rabbit, and I don't like the idea of poisoning our parks or being cruel to animals, feral or not.
So what about this for an idea? We have a billion dollar military at our disposal. Put aside a 2 week period once a year (perhaps during breeding season),
close the national parks and organize the military into several large groups (one for each park) to conduct a professional cull of all feral activity. We're already
paying for our military, so the exercise shouldn't be all that expensive. If it was well coordinated and professional, the cull could hopefully reduce feral
activity in any given area to a minimum. After a few regular culls over a few years, we might even get rid of ferals altogether! One thing is certain, ad hoc
control doesn't work. The government needs to get serious. Any takers for that idea? After all, if we use the military to help out during floods and other
natural disasters, why not use it to control feral plagues?

---

 A bit of a problem with that Gary,,, even if all the other stars aligned,,, after one hour all the remaining ferals would scatter everywhere and it would be a wasted exercise IMHO. They are crafty and surprise and cunning on our behalf reap the rewards.

GaryKelly wrote:

---

Not too keen on campers with pea rifles mistaking me for a rabbit,

[snip]

---

That is an irrational fear. 

It is also most insulting to the many thousands of ordinary, law-abiding, respectable people who pass the character tests and do the training to be awarded a licence. 

However, talking about risk, how can you yourself be trusted not to be run amok with a motor vehicle, or not use it for some nefarious purpose?  After all, you have never been required to meet and continuously uphold the stringent character and other requirement that are deemed essential to obtain a firearms licence.  Yet it is a fact that without access to a vehicle that gives anonymity and mobility, few serious crimes would be committed and lives lost.  Maybe it is time to get serious about cars and restrict licences on the same basis as firearms.  That would solve the transport problems overnight.

Sorry for the few extra words and not taking a shot at you personally (what am I saying ) but we need to return to Earth and reality.

Politicians, no matter which side of politics they're on, often use the word 'reality'. "The reality is..." they begin. On the issue of private firearms in public places,
the reality is there are more people against than there are in favor. It's irrelevant who's right or who's wrong. It's a numbers game. If you're gonna talk
about reality, that's the reality. Comparing the licensing of firearms to the licensing of drivers is a red herring. The economy depends far more on the use of
motor vehicles than it does on the use of firearms. Placing severe restrictions on driver's licenses would disrupt the economy big time, and make the current cost
of providing public transport look like pocket money.

In relation to sending in the military to cull feral animals in National Parks, the argument that feral animals are too cunning to be caught is like saying the
Taliban are too smart for Aussie soldiers, so why bother? In a case of Aussie soldiers versus ferals, my money would be on the Aussies.

But I suspect my suggestion has been ignored or dismissed because it might just work. And if it did work, it would make the issue of private firearms in
public parks redundant.

As I see it, and I've seen it before on these forums, this issue is never about reality. It's always about emotion. It's like the way pollies behave in Parliament.
All yelling abuse and nobody listening. All claiming to be right. Well, we'll see who's right on September 14.

Meanwhile, if you're gonna talk about reality, make sure it's reality and not a version thereof. Amen.

Tea and scones are now being served. That'll be $10 each, thank you.