The Fine Art Of Bushstalking

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 25, 2006

James Woodford

Hunters are using state land to shoot feral pests, writes James Woodford.

THE Victorian border is only a few gullies away, it is a softly-drizzling 5am, halfway down a forestry track named Broadaxe Road. John Mumford and Andy Mallen pull their four-wheel-drive off to the side of the track in Yambulla State Forest, south of Eden.

The two men are preparing to stalk sambar deer. Mallen prefers camouflage fatigues while Mumford likes flannelette shirts and tracksuit pants, which are virtually noiseless in the bush. But both men have conspicuously orange headgear which signals their intent to kill. The hats mean they are clearly visible to each other and anyone else in the forest before dawn, but the colour is invisible to their prey.

Both prepare rifles, check packs to make sure they have all the safety gear and a collection of knives for skinning and boning.

Neither are trophy hunters and, at home, have all the meat preparation equipment of a boutique butcher, including sausage machines.

"I prefer to kill my own meat," Mallen states matter of factly.

It is venison that has motivated the pair to make the seven-hour journey south from Sydney.

Mallen takes a GPS reading of the car's location and then, finally, the bolts to their firearms and clips of ammunition are unlocked from a steel box. Once the weapons are fully assembled and several rounds in the magazine, each looks into the other's rifle to make sure they are not cocked and that the chamber is empty.

This moment is significant. It is the first time individuals have been permitted to hunt in Yambulla under a radical new program managed by the Game Council of NSW.

It is also a big moment for Mumford, who lobbied for the right to hunt on public land for almost two decades.

"Today is 18 years in the making," he says. "For me this is the first time I have ever stood on public land in NSW with my firearm."

They fold their "permit to hunt" documentation in their pockets. It warns them to be aware of beekeepers and forest workers and designates the feral species they may target on this day - deer.

Both men push aside the undergrowth, cut their conversation to a whisper and plan every footfall to avoid cracking a stick. Within a few metres they are swallowed by the vegetation.

A fortnight ago the Game Council began issuing permits to private hunters, allowing them to use bows and arrows, hunting dogs and rifles in more than 30 state forests. Within a few months another 132 forest areas may join the list. Even "black powder" enthusiasts - hunters who like their guns Daniel Boone-style - are catered for as part of the scheme.

The program is called Conservation Hunting because it targets some of the worst pests - deer, pigs, foxes, rabbits, goats, hares, cats and wild dogs. Brumbies have been excluded for political and animal welfare reasons.

To gain a permit a hunter must have an R-licence (Restricted Game Hunting), issued by the Game Council, and a firearms licence. They must be a member of an approved hunting club and have undergone specialist courses.

It seems to be a system with enough checks that it would be virtually impossible for anyone other than the likes of Mallen and Mumford to end up with a permit.

So far, 345 of the $60 licences have been issued. More than 70 permits have been granted and 17 hunting parties have headed into the bush since March 13. The official head count stands at 13 pigs, two foxes, two rabbits, a deer and three goats.

Mallen and Mumford are Sydneysiders and hunting enthusiasts. Both want to see the reputation of hunting lifted and are actively involved in their main club, the Australian Deer Association. Mumford is also the head of the Game Management Council of NSW. Mallen reveals his profession as an arborist as he studies the top of a chewed wattle bush and declares it a sign of deer. Mumford picks up a few lumps that at first glance look like big chocolate-coated sultanas.

"That's deer shit," he pronounces.

We cover about 500 metres in a couple of hours, cross a swamp, follow several promising game tracks and find lots of deer sign but the only life is thousands of march flies and a noisy wallaby. On the ridge above the swamp the pair undertake another hunt into a gully covered in regrowth forest. By late morning a break is called so the pair can fry up homemade venison sausages and pieces of venison from a previous hunt.

The Game Council's chief executive, Brian Boyle, says the potential to dent feral animal populations is enormous.

"There's 114,000 people in this state who list hunting as one of the reasons they own their firearm," he says. "If you get 50,000 of them out there and they take an average of one or two goats each then that is a massive contribution."

Boyle expects the peak of hunting activity on public land to run from Easter to the football grand finals.

"It's cooler, the flies aren't as bad and there's not as many snakes out.

"This is part of integrated feral animal control - it's an add-on at very little cost to the government. Every pig and every goat that is gone is good for the environment."

He says funding for feral animal control changes but the passion of hunters remains constant and should be harnessed for the war on pests.

The council has produced a manual for hunters, which has as its central goal to ensure R-licence holders protect themselves, fellow hunters and anyone else in the forest. It lays down a detailed regime of do's and don'ts for the different kinds of firearms and hunting methods and is part of the compulsory testing.

One of the state's most experienced professional feral pest shooters is managing ranger at the Moss Vale Rural Lands Protection Board, Andrew Glover. "If the intention of the hunters is to complement pest animal management in agency-run lands and adjoining property, I think it's a fantastic idea," Glover says. "But I'm a little bit concerned that rather than pest animal control it's about resource security, particularly for deer so there's always deer on public land."

His big fear is that when popular hunting areas become depleted there will be pressure among the hunting fraternity to restock.

Mallen, Mumford and Boyle say such people are criminals. "We want them hung as high as anyone else," Boyle says.

Glover's other issue with the new regime is many areas are excluded and that the feral pests and illegal hunters will vote with their feet.

"They'll say, because of the hunting pressure that's on the left side of the road then we'll go to the right." But his main concern is whether it will affect feral animals. To do that takes meticulously planned programs and a high level of co-ordination, he says.

Andrew Cox, executive officer at the National Parks Association, has more basic concerns. "If I hear a gunshot in the bush I am afraid. Controlling feral animals is a facade to get hunting onto public land. I think it's a good idea to have shooting as one of the planks of feral animal control but I don't think recreational shooting will be effective."

Cox says conservation hunting has nothing to do with conservation and everything to do with keeping John Tingle and the Shooters Party happy in the upper house of State Parliament.

There is no doubt these are happy days for NSW shooters. As Mallen and Mumford put away their guns for the drive to Sydney they don't seem in the least concerned no one shot or even saw a feral animal. In fact the mood the entire morning was as if a couple of mates were playing golf. "We all like to take game and to have a bit of venison in the fridge," Mallen says. "But we don't need to deck an animal every time we go into the bush. To us this is like armed bushwalking."

State forests open for hunting from March 13, 2006

1. SOUTH EAST NSW

Bondi, Currowan, Glenbog, Tallaganda, Yambulla, Yadboro

2. CENTRAL & WESTERN NSW

Canobolas, Glenwood, Grahway, Mullions Range, Roseberg, Pennsylvania

3. NORTH EAST NSW

Orara East

4. NEW ENGLAND

Nundle, Riamukka

5. MID NORTH COAST

Doyles River, Mount Boss, Bulga

6. SOUTHERN NSW & RIVERINA

Bago, Billapaloola, Binya, Bondo, Buckingbong, Bungongo, Carabost, Maragle, Micalong, Tumut, Wee Jasper, Yathong, Red Hill

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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