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

5.2 Management <strong>of</strong> <strong>feral</strong> buffalo
For many years, <strong>the</strong> <strong>feral</strong> buffalo has supported several industries: meat for human
consumption (local <strong>and</strong> international), pet meat, hides, horns, <strong>animals</strong> for live export
<strong>and</strong> game hunting. Over nine decades from <strong>the</strong> 1880s, some 700 000 <strong>animals</strong> were
harvested, on foot, from horseback <strong>and</strong> eventually from four-wheel drive vehicles, but
<strong>the</strong> <strong>feral</strong> buffalo continued to multiply <strong>and</strong> spread (Ford 1982). Some Aboriginal
communities in Kakadu use buffalo for food <strong>and</strong> have negotiated permission to
maintain a fenced herd. The two main control methods for buffalo are commercial
mustering <strong>and</strong> aerial shooting.
Commercial mustering
Farming <strong>of</strong> redomesticated herds is increasing <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>y are now farmed in all states.
Feral buffalo are relatively easily domesticated. The buffaloes are initially captured
usually by catching individuals with specially adapted vehicles, by self-trapping onto
feed or water, or by herding into yards by vehicles, helicopters, horses or motorbikes.
Mustering by helicopter is widely used because it allows herds to be moved from
areas difficult to reach from <strong>the</strong> ground <strong>and</strong> minimises direct contact between <strong>the</strong>
<strong>animals</strong> <strong>and</strong> vehicles.
Aerial shooting
The major conservation control method for buffalo has involved <strong>the</strong> use <strong>of</strong> helicopters
as a shooting platform, which allows large numbers <strong>of</strong> <strong>animals</strong> to be shot quickly <strong>and</strong>
easily in <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rwise inaccessible habitat (Boulton & Freel<strong>and</strong> 1991). This is <strong>the</strong>
most cost-effective method <strong>of</strong> control <strong>and</strong> most culling is timed to take place after
commercial harvesters have removed as many <strong>animals</strong> as economically viable
(Ramsay 1994). In <strong>the</strong> mid 1980s culling <strong>of</strong> buffalo by mass shooting from
helicopters under BTEC was very successful in controlling buffalo in many areas <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> NT (Freel<strong>and</strong> & Boulton 1990), virtually eradicating <strong>the</strong> species from areas such
as Kakadu National Park. The BTEC program ended in 1997 <strong>and</strong> buffalo are now no
longer heavily controlled in <strong>the</strong> Top End (Kakadu Board <strong>of</strong> Management <strong>and</strong> Parks
Australia 1999) <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir numbers are rapidly increasing.
Ground shooting <strong>and</strong> recreational hunting
Some opportunistic ground shooting occurs, however most control efforts are made
by aerial shooting. Buffalo are seen as one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> premier game species in Australia
for recreational hunting <strong>and</strong> several pr<strong>of</strong>essional hunting operators <strong>of</strong>fer trips to
remote parts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Territory or own large tract <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong> where hunts can be
conducted. A large number <strong>of</strong> international game hunters visit Australia to shoot
buffalo because it is one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> few locations where <strong>the</strong> <strong>animals</strong> occur in high enough
numbers in <strong>the</strong> wild <strong>and</strong> can legally be shot. Some Indigenous communities run
hunting safaris to supplement <strong>the</strong>ir income <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> shot game is <strong>of</strong>ten utilised for
food. Buffalo are also shot by community members for food. However, <strong>the</strong> number <strong>of</strong>
buffalo shot by hunters is far too small to contribute in any meaningful way to buffalo
control.
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