Stop the Hunting Bill

We urgently need your help. We have only today to convince NSW Parliament to reject a reckless new hunting Bill that will put the public and conservation at risk. Act now to tell lawmakers to not rush through this dangerous Bill.

Have you heard the disturbing news? Labor are on the verge of helping the Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party to bring in laws that would send us decades backwards for science-based conservation management, animal welfare and gun safety laws.

This afternoon our state politicians are debating whether or not to bring in changes that would:
1) bring back ...

We urgently need your help. We have only today to convince NSW Parliament to reject a reckless new hunting Bill that will put the public and conservation at risk. Act now to tell lawmakers to not rush through this dangerous Bill.

Have you heard the disturbing news? Labor are on the verge of helping the Shooters, Fishers & Farmers Party to bring in laws that would send us decades backwards for science-based conservation management, animal welfare and gun safety laws.

This afternoon our state politicians are debating whether or not to bring in changes that would:
1) bring back old-school bounty systems that give tax-payer dollars to hobby hunters
2) make it easier for hunters to obtain access to prohibited weapons and gun silencers, and
3) Promote haphazard recreational shooting under the banner of conservation, despite overwhelming evidence that hobby hunting doesn’t effectively manage invasive species.

Write to members of the Upper House and and Premier Chris Minns now and demand they oppose these reckless and ill-thought-out laws.

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Subject:

Dear Premier and Members of Parliament,

I am writing to you with concern that the new Bill introduced by the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, would undermine conservation efforts, put public safety at risk, and hand over public land to vested interests under the guise of feral animal control.  
  
Please don’t rush through the Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill. This dangerous and ill-considered 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 gun silencers and dangerous restricted weapons.

I have grave concerns about this Bill 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 uses misinformation to entrench 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 for 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. Strategic pest control programs, not uncoordinated and haphazard open season, are needed to protect these values.

- 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.

This consequences of this Bill are far reaching. It uses a debunked and ineffective justification to divert precious funds from effective pest management and biodiversity protection efforts, while loosening gun laws to boot. I urge you to reject this Bill.

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