The Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC) and the National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) strongly condemn a new Bill introduced by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, which would undermine conservation efforts, put public safety at risk, and hand over public land to vested interests under the guise of feral animal control.
The Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill would effectively resurrect the former NSW Game Council - an agency abolished in 2013 after an independent review found serious governance failures and a lack of accountability.
Alarmingly, it also seeks to weaken firearm laws by making it easier for recreational shooters to access silencers - dangerous weapons currently restricted due to serious public safety concerns and typically reserved for professional use only.
Both the NCC and the NPA hold grave concerns for the following reasons;
- Recreational hunting is not effective pest control. The evidence is clear that professional, science-based pest management delivers vastly better outcomes than uncoordinated recreational shooting. Aerial culling programs in places like Kosciuszko National Park have proven far more effective at controlling feral animals such as horses than decades of ground-based efforts.
- The Bill promotes a dangerous culture of "hunt to conserve". Recreational hunting has long been used as a cover for maintaining game animal populations. This Bill entrenches that approach, potentially worsening feral deer impacts, which are already out of control across NSW due to past protections granted under the Game Council regime.
- 'Right to hunt' provisions risk overriding community and conservation values. The Bill introduces legal language around a "right to hunt" that could have far-reaching consequences, including overriding Aboriginal land claims and public safety concerns. These so-called rights could end up taking precedence over cultural, environmental, and recreational uses of public land.
- No voice for Traditional Owners. The Bill makes no provision for consultation with Aboriginal communities, despite thousands of active land claims under the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act that may overlap with areas targeted by the legislation.
In addition, the Bill would allow hunting in some of the state's most important conservation assets including;
- Flora Reserves, which are protected under international standards (IUCN Category 1b) and often managed by National Parks and Wildlife Service. Opening them to hunting undermines decades of conservation work.
- Travelling Stock Routes (TSRs), which are narrow corridors of remnant native vegetation that is vital for biodiversity, particularly in heavily cleared regions. Hunting in such linear sites poses serious risks to safety and conservation.
Quotes attributable to Jacqui Mumford, Chief Executive Officer at the Nature Conservation Council of NSW:
"A 'Conservation Hunting Authority' is a waste of taxpayers' money based on a problematic myth. It will get in the way of real conservation and restoration efforts and is a distraction to the fundamental land management, biodiversity conservation and biosecurity reforms this government has an opportunity to really get some traction on and make significant progress."
"This Bill is a Trojan horse for loosening hunting restrictions and funnelling public funds into recreational shooting, disguised as conservation. Despite clear evidence that passive hunting and ad hoc feral animal removal provide no long-term environmental benefit, the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party is promoting these changes under a misleading conservation narrative."
Quotes attributable to Gary Dunnet, Chief Executive Officer at the National Parks Association of NSW:
"It is really disappointing that the NSW government appears to be buying into the myth that recreational hunting is an effective way of addressing the feral animal crisis devastating our biodiversity."
"Environment Minister Penny Sharpe should know better than anyone that effective feral animal control programs are implemented by specialist professionals with the authority to use the most appropriate techniques, such as baiting and aerial shooting."
