Review of the management of feral animals and their impact on ...

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Pascale Taplin, an Indigenous L<strong>and</strong> Management Facilitator for <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn L<strong>and</strong> Council, said it was still very common for outside experts to come to Aboriginal communities wanting to implement some program, to lecture <strong>the</strong> community without listening properly, <strong>and</strong> to think <strong>the</strong>y had engaged in proper consultation. There are no training programs to help pest managers underst<strong>and</strong> Aboriginal values, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> effectiveness <strong>of</strong> individual managers appears to depend upon <strong>the</strong>ir own abilities to bridge cultural differences. In Kakadu National Park <strong>and</strong> in Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, <strong>the</strong> rangers want to see horses <strong>and</strong> banteng culled respectively. Both national parks are jointly managed by traditional owners, <strong>and</strong> in both parks <strong>the</strong> rangers believe that traditional owners would agree to a cull, but that it would be desirable for outside facilitators to initiate <strong>the</strong> discussion about culling. In Kakadu National Park an ‘us-against-<strong>the</strong>m’ attitude has developed out <strong>of</strong> previous conflicts over <strong>management</strong>. Anne Ferguson, <strong>the</strong> ranger in charge <strong>of</strong> pest issues, feels that specialist negotiation skills provided by outsiders are highly desirable. ‘My background is as a ranger.’ She said <strong>the</strong> community representatives who act in liason roles get sick <strong>of</strong> being asked questions <strong>and</strong> don’t want to talk any more. Despite <strong>the</strong> inadequate liason, Ferguson says that processes for negotiating pest control are more advanced at Kakadu than elsewhere. At Garig Gunak Barlu National Park, ranger Peter Fitzgerald said that an outsider with good communication skills was needed to demonstrate <strong>the</strong> damage that banteng do <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> need for a cull. The outsider would have to be someone who understood ecosystem <strong>impact</strong>s <strong>and</strong> who knew how to communicate well with Aboriginal communities. Without an outside facilitator <strong>the</strong>re was no prospect <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> community agreeing to a cull. One barrier to effective communication is language. Only about 40 per cent <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Aboriginal population speaks English as <strong>the</strong>ir first language. Communication can be improved by using plain English <strong>and</strong> local language photo-based documents, videos <strong>and</strong> posters using local content, illustrated books with stories about introduced pests, <strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r culturally-sensitive tools as outlined in <strong>the</strong> NLC report (Nor<strong>the</strong>rn L<strong>and</strong> Council 2004). Logistic problems On Aboriginal l<strong>and</strong>s in <strong>the</strong> Top End, <strong>feral</strong> animal numbers are highest in remote <strong>and</strong> rugged l<strong>and</strong>scapes, for example Arnhem L<strong>and</strong>. Control over <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong> in this l<strong>and</strong>scape is difficult. Aboriginal people no longer occupy much <strong>of</strong> this l<strong>and</strong>scape <strong>and</strong> proper <strong>management</strong> has lapsed. In 1996 <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn L<strong>and</strong> Council instituded <strong>the</strong> Caring for Country Strategy to assist Aboriginal families to manage <strong>the</strong>ir country, based upon <strong>the</strong> principle that <strong>the</strong> l<strong>and</strong> needs its people. Of <strong>the</strong> eight objectives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> strategy, <strong>the</strong> second is to ‘Establish best practise approaches to major environmental threats, particularly weeds, <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong> <strong>and</strong> fire’ (Nor<strong>the</strong>rn L<strong>and</strong> Council 2004). The website <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> NLC devotes a page to <strong>feral</strong> animal <strong>management</strong> under <strong>the</strong> Caring for Country Strategy, listing such goals as: 172
• Facilitating <strong>the</strong> involvement <strong>of</strong> Aboriginal l<strong>and</strong>owners <strong>and</strong> community-based rangers in <strong>the</strong> assessment <strong>of</strong> actual <strong>and</strong> potential environmental <strong>impact</strong>s caused by <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong>. • Preparing <strong>and</strong> disseminating up-to-date information to Aboriginal l<strong>and</strong>owners <strong>and</strong> community-based rangers about actual <strong>and</strong> potential <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong> <strong>and</strong> related <strong>management</strong> strategies. The greatest threat to biodiversity in <strong>the</strong> Top End <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Kimberley are hot uncontrollable fires which rage over large areas because traditional fire <strong>management</strong> has lapsed. Late dry season fires need to be replaced by smaller, cooler, early fires. Hot fires are considered <strong>the</strong> main threat to small mammals in <strong>the</strong> region, many <strong>of</strong> which are declining (Woinarski et al. 2001), <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> main threat, along with grazing, to declining seed-eating birds, including <strong>the</strong> endangered Gouldian finch (Garnett & Crowley 2000). A traditional burning regime <strong>of</strong> smaller mosaic fires needs to be reinstated as an urgent priority, but this can only occur if people are living on <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong>and</strong>s. Feral animal <strong>management</strong> would improve from this, because <strong>the</strong>re would be l<strong>and</strong>holders to observe <strong>the</strong> degradation taking place, <strong>and</strong> l<strong>and</strong>holders to facilitate control. Many <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> traditional l<strong>and</strong>holders are now very elderly <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y have not seen <strong>the</strong>ir l<strong>and</strong>s for many years <strong>and</strong> have not observed <strong>the</strong> damage wrought by <strong>feral</strong> livestock. Shooting is almost <strong>the</strong> only control option for buffalo, donkeys, horses <strong>and</strong> pigs in remote areas. But gun ownership on Aboriginal l<strong>and</strong>s is declining. According to <strong>the</strong> NLC report: ‘Gun ownership in remote comunities is rapidly declining <strong>and</strong> this is leading to a real decline in <strong>the</strong> customary economy. Wildlife harvesting returns from hunting are delining for groups that have limited or no access to firearms – <strong>and</strong> some outstation families are doing it very hard … This <strong>the</strong>n deepens <strong>the</strong> pervasive loss in ecological knowledge, makes it more difficult for Aboriginal hunters to contribute to <strong>feral</strong> animal control…’ Gun ownerships is declining because <strong>of</strong> stricter gun laws, community concerns over misuse <strong>of</strong> guns, <strong>and</strong> because existing guns are becoming old <strong>and</strong> unsafe. The NLC report contains recommendation to improve levels <strong>of</strong> gun ownership. Some Aboriginal rangers are engaged in shooting operations. The Wagiman traditional owners in <strong>the</strong> Daly River Basin have negotiated a contract for harvesting horses <strong>and</strong> donkeys (for pet meat) <strong>and</strong> pigs, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y have undergone firearms training (Nor<strong>the</strong>rn L<strong>and</strong>s Council 2004). However, <strong>feral</strong> <strong>animals</strong> in rugged areas can only be controlled effectively by aerial shooting using a semi-automatic rifle, <strong>and</strong> obtaining a licence to discharge such weapons from aircraft is extremely difficult, although some licences have been obtained by Aboriginal rangers. The Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Territory National Parks Service has a shooter available to do such work for Aboriginal communities when his time is available. However, he is usually heavily booked <strong>and</strong> a delay <strong>of</strong> up to four months can be expected. Department <strong>of</strong> Primary Industry shooters are also available <strong>and</strong> easier to contract (P. Josif pers. comm.). With more funding, more aerial shooting could occur. These shooters would need to be people known to <strong>the</strong> communities, or accompanied by someone known to <strong>the</strong> communities, to establish <strong>the</strong> necessary trust. L<strong>and</strong>holders would want to know that <strong>animals</strong> were not being killed at sensitive sites. 173
Page 1:
Review of<
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Contributors Andrew Norris Pest Ani
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3.7.36 Common Myna (Acridot
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Table of figures F
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Section 2 Introduction Feral <stron
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Amanda Dimmock, QD
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Section 3 A status review o
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3.4 Birds Thirteen (or 14) species
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Information on the
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Summary A rodent that contributes t
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Dingoes can become a threat to wild
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The significance of</strong
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macropods and b<st
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^Lasiorhinus krefftii North
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Perceived threat Geopsittacus occid
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conservation areas. It is less clea
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Table 8 Rare species found in <stro
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Competition Several examples are re
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In truth, camels do substantial dam
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the Tanami. Buffal
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The situation today Buffalo numbers
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qualify under IUCN criteria as enda
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3.7.16 Goat (Capra hircus) Summary
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Drakonorchis drakeoides Hinged Drag
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3.7.19 Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Su
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Impacts Much is known about <strong
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Distribution Ostriches have won <st
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nest in tree hollows along
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Distribution The skylark is found i
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Distribution The blackbird is wides
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Land, and<
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have been translocated to o
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esources. Significant investment in
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many native species (Clarke et al.
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spread across the
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Section 4 Legislative framework 4.1
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protection, as long as it falls wit
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Native Vegetation Conservation Act
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ehabilitate existing native vegetat
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suppression, which is the</
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al. 1986, 1987). The use of
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5.1.4 Mustering Commercial musterin
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etal. (1997) found that many native
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the vaccine <stron
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Where possible, integration <strong
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strategy, relative cost-effectivene
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Fencing Feral buffalo have a reputa
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5.3 Management of
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Summary of <strong
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time comes for the
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Summary of <strong
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Individual tracking Tracking is a l
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SA - Currently cats are not widely
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Method of control
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Aerial shooting Aerial shooting can
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Summary of <strong
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80% of export was
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ensuring effective treatment <stron
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the lower cost, wi
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5.8 Management of
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conservation value rathe</s
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effort on the cont
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5.9 Management of
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follow transect lines, one kilometr
Page 130 and 131: as a refuge from predators. Removal
Page 132 and 133: Summary of <strong
Page 134 and 135: was completed it was the</s
Page 136 and 137: warren structure amenable to recolo
Page 138 and 139: Poisons Traditionally, strychnine,
Page 140 and 141: infected and steri
Page 142 and 143: of high priority.
Page 144 and 145: Method of control
Page 146 and 147: 5.11 Management of
Page 148 and 149: technique can allow for cost-effect
Page 152 and 153: In South Australia, between 30 <str
Page 156 and 157: % respondents 100% 90% 80% 70% 60%
Page 158 and 159: a) b) Figure 3. a) Extent o
Page 160 and 161: Figure 4 Response frequency for lik
Page 162 and 163: distribution of <s
Page 164 and 165: Section 7 Key problems and<
Page 166 and 167: • Goats degrading temperate woodl
Page 168 and 169: conservation problems in Europe <st
Page 170 and 171: message that camels are a valuable
Page 172 and 173: In the Koolatong R
Page 174 and 175: environmental degradation’ (Nor<s
Page 176 and 177: ecause dingo and d
Page 178 and 179: Various control methods have been a
Page 182 and 183: Lack of a Strategi
Page 184 and 185: eradicated after seeing the
Page 186 and 187: In some situations, payment <strong
Page 188 and 189: could have led to better protocols
Page 190 and 191: Game hunting is a growing business,
Page 192 and 193: Much as we might like it, t
Page 194 and 195: conservation outcome. In such a sit
Page 196 and 197: community consultation and<
Page 198 and 199: • Have the non-t
Page 200 and 201: provide opportunities for strategic
Page 202 and 203: Section 9 Priorities for investment
Page 204 and 205: contacted for exact locations <stro
Page 206 and 207: way. Achilles heel research should
Page 208 and 209: efficient in any given situation. R
Page 210 and 211: west Queensland re
Page 212 and 213: Crossland, MR, 199
Page 214 and 215: Forsyth, DM, and P
Page 216 and 217: Lange, RT, and Gra
Page 218 and 219: Morgan, LA and But
Page 220 and 221: Parkes, JP, 1990, Feral goat contro
Page 222 and 223: Van Rensberg, PJJ, Skinner, JD, <st
Page 224 and 225: Appendix A Ferals animals</
Page 226 and 227: Indigenous lands I
Page 228 and 229: Appendix B Stakeholder survey form
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222
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224
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226
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Appendix C Database on past NHT fun
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Lachlan Rehabilitation of</
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Northern Territory
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Cape York Ambiilmungu-Ngarra tradit
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Wet Tropics Expansion and</
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Avon Protecting and</strong
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