Queensland Agriculture Minister has suggested landowners use category D firearms to manage feral pigs who are spreading TR4... moreQueensland Agriculture Minister has suggested landowners use category D firearms to manage feral pigs who are spreading TR4 between banana crops.
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UPDATED 12 noon: ILLEGAL hunting fines could double and a... moreScource The Land - https://goo.gl/38oGi3
UPDATED 12 noon: ILLEGAL hunting fines could double and a victim’s geographical isolation carry greater weight in sentencing as government tries to crack-down on stock thieves, trespassers, and poachers. Nearly 18 months since ordering a former top cop to review rural crime in NSW – and a year since said review was completed – Police Minister Troy Grant unveiled government’s plan to supercharge trespass laws and boost fines for illegal hunting in Dubbo this morning. The review lays bare the “deep sense of anger and frustration” over crime in rural areas, as well as despair over perceived police inaction, and inadequate penalties “if indeed the matter gets to court”. It also said many regional victims appeared resigned to crimes not being dealt with, leading to a drop in reporting, poor understanding of the law, and a belief among landholders it is up to them “to take matters into their own hands”. Former assistant commissioner Stephen Bradshaw’s review also says the state’s 34 Rural Crime Investigators were being sequestered for other duties – despite being created and resourced specifically for the purpose of rural crime. In response to Mr Bradshaw’s 22 recommendations, government has proposed a new aggravated trespass offence for trespass crimes that include an enhanced biosecurity risk, an intent to engage in stock theft, or if there is hunting equipment present. Rural crime – particularly rustling – has been a big problem for farmers amid high livestock prices. Stock theft has continued unabated in NSW this year with 1,717 cattle reported stolen between January and May, and 8,095 sheep – more than $2 million worth based on market conditions. In the year to March 2017 there were 479 incidents of stock theft. Of the 73 local government areas with three or more incidents, Gosford was the only one that could pass as a metro area. The worst hit were Inverell, Palerang, Upper Hunter, Warrumbungle, Tenterfield, Wagga Wagga and Guyra - all well in the bush. The New England Rural Crime Unit told the Inverell Times this month it was investigating the theft of 30 merino ewes from the Elsmore area - the second lot of sheep to have been stolen this year from the property. Mr Bradshaw recommended that a compulsory requirement to ear mark all stock over the age of 6 months, on the property on which they were bred, should be introduced. Meanwhile government also announced it will push for police to have ‘increased flexibility’ to seize vehicles connected with a game hunting offence, and will push to double of the maximum penalty for illegal hunting on private land from $1,100 to $2,200. Just this weekend Moree farmer Oscar Pearce reported ‘pig chasers’ had trespassed and driven over his chickpeas while he was off-property. Mr Bradshaw’s report illegal hunting was the only rural crime that has recorded consecutive rises over the past five years, with incidents on average increasing by around 29 per cent per year. The majority of these illegal hunting incidents involve the hunting of pigs with dogs, and in some instances, the hunting of both feral and native animals using a bow and arrow, Mr Bradshaw said. “It is likely that these offences are often undetected or are underreported, so the true incidence is likely to be significantly higher,” he said. Mr Grant said a victim’s geographical isolation could be mentioned specifically as an aggravating factor during sentencing. Other measures government will push for include: The ability to apply to the Local Court for a forced muster order, which will assist victims of stock theft; A deeming provision that will help to provide certainty of ownership to those who harvest rangeland goats for commercial gain Queensland introduced forced muster orders in 2014. Their order forces neighbours to round up animals belonging to someone else that may have strayed onto their property, as a result of broken fences. Police limitations laid bare Mr Bradshaw also recommended the establishment of a standalone ‘Stock Squad’, possibly within State Crime Command, reporting through to an Assistant Commissioner of Police and with a rank structure and dedicated intelligence analysts, providing for opportunities for promotion and additional training. He highlighted several limitations currently facing rural police and victims of rural crime. “Police stations are not staffed 24 hours and it may take many hours to receive a visit from a police officer, if indeed a... less
Pigs carrying infected soil through the banana growing districts of Far North Queensland could spell a biosecurity disaster... morePigs carrying infected soil through the banana growing districts of Far North Queensland could spell a biosecurity disaster for the industry, farmers say. The $600 million industry has shifted into damage control following the latest outbreak of Panama Disease Tropical Race 4 on a Tully property. Part of the biosecurity plan to halt the spread of the fungus includes movement-control measures to prevent the soil-borne pathogen from entering farms. Farmer Steven Lizzio, who grows bananas at Silkwood, 30 kilometres north of Tully, said pigs were a biosecurity headache for farmers. He said they travelled long distances and carried a ''fair bit of dirt''. On Tuesday night in the Queensland Parliament, Shadow Agriculture Minister Dale Last called on the Agriculture Minister, Mr Bill Byrne, to do more to combat pig numbers in the region. "The numbers of feral pigs in the Tully and Innisfail area have exploded in recent years, which is not surprising given the location and ad hoc approach to feral pig control," Mr Last said. "Feral pigs can easily travel 20 to 30 kilometres in a single night, and the risk they pose to farmers in terms of spreading TR4 disease is substantial." Control of feral pigs is the responsibility of landholders and local councils. But Mr Last wants a State Government-led program to target the pests, saying it's a task beyond the capacity of local pig hunters and banana growers. Changes in strategy Mr Lizzio said that the methods of pig control have to change following the new biosecurity guidelines. "Traps are something that have been trialled and they work really well,'' he said. He said because of TR4, it was longer 4realistic for pig hunters to operate in banana paddocks. Mr Lizzio said it should be the responsibility of every farmer to use traps. Mr Lizzio said he would like to see more intervention in national parks, which fringe the region's banana farms with thick scrub and rainforest. "It's where our big issues are,'' he said. ''I think the Government needs to step in. They own the national parks, so get in and clean up the feral pigs issues that are breeding up in there." Assurance sought from Commonwealth Mr Byrne said the Government was responding to the Panama Disease outbreak with exclusion fences to control animal movements as part of a $24 million response. He said he was concerned about the large numbers of feral pigs inhabiting the Department of Defence's Tully Training Area. "In the weeks after the initial [TR4] detection in March 2015 I wrote to the Minister for Defence raising the issue and the significant risk posed in terms of disease spread," Mr Byrne said. "I sought urgent assurances that the Department of Defence had allocated appropriate funds and resources to pig control on its property." In addition to exclusionary fencing, the minister said he had discussed the availability of semi-automatic firearms to farmers worried about pig numbers in the wake of the TR4 confirmation. less
There is growing concern in New South Wales about a disease that is spread by feral pigs and can cause infertility among... moreThere is growing concern in New South Wales about a disease that is spread by feral pigs and can cause infertility among humans and dogs. Swine brucellosis is widespread in parts of Queensland and infects pig-hunting dogs, but can also spread to humans through blood contact. In Australia, the infection is only common in feral pigs, not domestic pigs. University of Sydney Epidemiology lecturer Siobhan Mor said the disease was being detected in parts of north-western NSW and one dog has even been diagnosed in Sydney. She said they wanted to better understand how it was spreading and make people aware of the risks. "We're seeing an increasing number of dogs that are being infected, and there's certainly a need to understand and conduct further research on the feral pig side to understand what the distribution looks like," Dr Mor said. "At the moment, the big unknown is the feral pig situation, we don't know how much this disease is spreading within the feral pig population and that's really the next direction that we need to go in." Dogs infected while hunting or eating wild pig meat People who handle pig carcasses are at risk as well anyone whose blood becomes contaminated with the blood or tissue of a pig or dog carrying the pathogen, Dr Mor said. She said everyone needed to be aware of the risks. "The dog that was diagnosed in Sydney had an unknown exposure to feral pigs, because it was acquired from a pound at a very young age and was subsequently managed down in Sydney before it was diagnosed," she said. Areas such as Moree and Tamworth in the state's north have been identified as hotspots where dogs have been diagnosed with swine brucellosis, but Dr Mor said there was the possibility of it being carried further west. "There's also less health coverage out that way, too, so it's a little bit harder for people to take their dogs to the vet and get diagnosed," she said. "The same goes for people themselves, to go to a medical practitioner and get diagnosed, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if we were seeing cases outside those areas." A spokesman for the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) said it was expected the dogs diagnosed in NSW had made close contact with infected feral pigs while hunting or eating uncooked meat of wild pigs. "The department has and will continue to engage with the local veterinarians to ensure they have the information and support necessary to manage the small number of cases," the DPI spokesman said. "DPI also continues to work and collaborate with NSW Health and Local Land Services to understand the risk posed by the disease and how best to manage it with the community." less
You might take a bullet for someone, but would you take a buffalo? A man is in hospital after taking the brunt of a charging... moreYou might take a bullet for someone, but would you take a buffalo? A man is in hospital after taking the brunt of a charging buffalo to protect someone else, in a remote part of the Northern Territory. A 61-year-old safari tour guide was attacked by the buffalo about 10:30am yesterday, around 170 kilometres north-west of Numbulwar. It is believed the buffalo charged at another man who had fallen to the ground, when the tour guide threw himself between the buffalo and the man. The tour guide suffered lacerations and suspected fractures, and had to be driven back to town before being flown to hospital. Clinic staff from the town of Numbulwar travelled several hours to retrieve the injured man, before he was airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital. He was flown 600km by Careflight services before arriving at 8:00pm last night in a stable condition. It is not the first buffalo-related incident in the Northern Territory — another buffalo attack occurred in the same area nine months ago. It is not known which tour company was operating the safari. It is estimated 150,000 Asian swamp buffalo live in the Top End, with the majority of the population in Arnhem Land. less
ENVIRONMENT authorities are concerned about booming feral pig populations in southwest Victoria. Surveillance and trapping... moreENVIRONMENT authorities are concerned about booming feral pig populations in southwest Victoria. Surveillance and trapping undertaken by Forest Fire Management Victoria has confirmed feral pig populations are becoming established in several new locations in the southwest, the department said. “We believe the origin of these newly confirmed populations is most likely through importation and illegal release,” Forest Fire Management Victoria Officer James Downie said yesterday. “We are seeing evidence of feral pigs that have had their ears cut off consistent with the theory that some pigs were released with the intent of breeding up to allow for increased hunting opportunities.” While hunting pest animals is permitted in some state forests, cutting off pigs’ ears and the use of dogs to chase, hold and attack pigs is prohibited under the animal cruelty act. It is also illegal to import, keep, transport or release feral pigs within Victoria. less
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