Thread: Wombats used for target practice in Victoria

Originally Posted by scarry

This is what i was referring to,it is not just media hype.
Its actually 406 eagles.

14 days' jail for killing 406 wedge-tailed eagles 'inadequate', animal groups say | Australia news | The Guardian

Controlling foxes is not an issue at all,they are an introduced pest.
We have more lambs taken by foxes more than anything else.Every effort is taken to control their numbers.Controlling foxes also reduces the wild cat population.

Can't comment on wombats,as we don't have them,but being a native animal,permits are probably needed.I appreciate they can cause real issues,and probably need controlling.

As for wedge tailed eagles,they are generally not an issue here.They are often in pairs,and seeing more than two pairs in a day is unusual.They are also territorial.Down south their numbers are much greater,seeing 23 together would never happen here.Most here seem to feed on easy pickings,which are road kill.Thats not to say they won't take a lamb,they will,often flying up to around 30m and dropping it to kill it.But this is very rare,they wouldn't take one lamb in a year.Wild pigs would take more lambs,than eagles,but pig numbers are well controlled.

Its the weather thats the main issue.As i have said on another post,we have 13 out of 13 dams dry,ATM.Havent had a wheat crop for three years,no good summer rain for 5 yrs.Bore water in troughs are keeping the stock watered,but the lack of food is the issue.Having to feed some of the few stock that are left.I have never seen so many dead roos,there are literally hundreds of them.Top soil is blowing away in the wind,the place is a dust bowl.Worse than '65 they say,i was too young to remember.That year was the worse drought in the area on record.

Life is very tough in times like this,i am sure some in the city have no idea how difficult it can be on the land,as others have said.

Fair call,

I must say the report I was referencing was talking about 80 eagles, my main issue was the reporters waxing lyrically about a subject they clearly had no idea about.

I have never killed an eagle in my life, my wife hit one with the car recently though ,there have been hundreds around here.

I also postulate that just because something is introduced doesn't make it evil and therefore fair game, also just because something may be native doesn't mean it's fine whatever the numbers are.

And Scarry, I'm really sorry to hear about your current situation, unfortunately ours isn't much better in the northern half is S.A.

in the third year now, what little we had last year was decimated by kangaroos in numbers that could not be understood unless seen, this year is also exceptionally dry, but without the roo loading of previous years, I agree that the draught is the cause of problem wildlife numbers , at least the concentration in smaller areas, but would also point out that the government has really dropped the ball as regards the kangaroo situation.

In fact we were informed by one of the fly over workers that counts kangaroos for allotment of tags, that in one recent count, they simply COULD NOT COUNT THEM as there were too many. The action then taken was nothing......brilliant.

There are many good reasons for shooting an animal, Doing it for FUN is Most Definately not one of them.

Originally Posted by trout1105

There are many good reasons for shooting an animal, Doing it for FUN is Most Definately not one of them.

I agree,I hate having to do it,but some get their jollys from it, not me..

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

Me too. Apparently they are completely protected in every state except Victoria.
Seriously, how hard is it for a farmer to adjust practices to cope with some wombats digging burrows? Just leave the bottom 15cm clear under fences so the wombats can pass through.

Wildlife conservation: Welcome to Victoria, the most wombat-unfriendly state

I agree Mick, the said farmer wouldn't want to be a plant operator in the urban areas or transport/communication corridors, even with "Dial Before You Dig 1100".


From the article 'Some farmers have serious problems with wombat burrows or holes in paddocks; tractors or motorbikes can get stuck if the earth collapses underneath. But as one wombat supporter said: "if you're going to shoot a wombat on the property, another one is going to come in and use that holeÂ… You need to deter them from the area." '

Stressors	Pressure (Psi)
Sheep	12
Human	14
Utility terrain vehicle	14
50-ton bulldozer	16
Cattle	27
Horse	27
Tractor	175
Higgins et al. Revised 2017

I seriously doubt the veracity of motorbikes collapsing wombat tunnels, as the known danger for cattle are the entrances and how hard is it to mark/fence the entrance? Even more so when one considers that ground pressure Table 1 is standing, walking creates 48 psi for cattle and 28 for humans (see Table 2https://www.bovinevetonline.com/article/mud-and-lameness-beef-cattle). As to tractors, you'd have to be unlucky to be driving parallel to a burrow which can be up to 30m long (not sure if they are in straight lines though) but can be more than one in their home range of 5-25 hectares, although several metres deep, therefore a sliding scale of risk of collapse from the entrances towards the middle I think. Also the burrows are homes and not used for grazing the roots of plants. Living with wombats | NSW Environment, Energy and Science

Sounds more like "Honest I dunno how the tractor/harvester/motorbike broke/got stuck, must've been a wombat"!

Cheers,
Randy

Originally Posted by shack

Fair call,

I must say the report I was referencing was talking about 80 eagles, my main issue was the reporters waxing lyrically about a subject they clearly had no idea about.

I have never killed an eagle in my life, my wife hit one with the car recently though ,there have been hundreds around here.

I also postulate that just because something is introduced doesn't make it evil and therefore fair game, also just because something may be native doesn't mean it's fine whatever the numbers are.

And Scarry, I'm really sorry to hear about your current situation, unfortunately ours isn't much better in the northern half is S.A.

in the third year now, what little we had last year was decimated by kangaroos in numbers that could not be understood unless seen, this year is also exceptionally dry, but without the roo loading of previous years, I agree that the draught is the cause of problem wildlife numbers , at least the concentration in smaller areas, but would also point out that the government has really dropped the ball as regards the kangaroo situation.

In fact we were informed by one of the fly over workers that counts kangaroos for allotment of tags, that in one recent count, they simply COULD NOT COUNT THEM as there were too many. The action then taken was nothing......brilliant.

Yes the numbers of roos has to be seen to believed,particularly on the cultivation.

A couple of years ago one of the neighbouring properties had licensed roo shooters shoot 10 000.Three months later the place was covered with them again.They cultivate well over 100 000 acres.

Some are putting up what they call exclusion fences,but these also have issues,particularly with other native wildlife movement.And i don't think it will be long before the govt will be on to these types fences.

Originally Posted by scarry

A couple of years ago one of the neighbouring properties had licensed roo shooters shoot 10 000.Three months later the place was covered with them again.They cultivate well over 100 000 acres.

Around 2004 people know from Winton bought another property on the western side of the Diamantina which had been owned by a pair of elderly bachelor brothers. As in many of these cases it had become run down. The brothers mustering enough to keep them in rum and baccy. The new owners knew there was a big feral hog problem and employed a pig and pest shooter. For ten years they averaged 3000 hogs a year and still have a substantial hog problem. There were lots of feral goats too. These became worth a bit of money for the export trade to the middle east so the goats got helicopter mustered and sent to meatworks. This does not seem to work for hogs. The only method of control that appears to work is intensive shooting campaigns.

Originally Posted by scarry

Yes the numbers of roos has to be seen to believed,particularly on the cultivation.

A couple of years ago one of the neighbouring properties had licensed roo shooters shoot 10 000.Three months later the place was covered with them again.They cultivate well over 100 000 acres.

Some are putting up what they call exclusion fences,but these also have issues,particularly with other native wildlife movement.And i don't think it will be long before the govt will be on to these types fences.

We are actually looking at exclusion fencing ourselves, if only it would rain so I could afford it......

Actually there are reports from some areas that it is paying for itself (literally paying for itself) within a few years, we have a small section fenced off that nothing can get too, and it is in a yard that theoretically nothing else was eating from, but the feed in the "excluded" bit was double height - about 8 inches, within a few weeks, just shows how much feed gets grazed when you don't realize it is.

Originally Posted by shack

We are actually looking at exclusion fencing ourselves, if only it would rain so I could afford it......

Actually there are reports from some areas that it is paying for itself (literally paying for itself) within a few years, we have a small section fenced off that nothing can get too, and it is in a yard that theoretically nothing else was eating from, but the feed in the "excluded" bit was double height - about 8 inches, within a few weeks, just shows how much feed gets grazed when you don't realize it is.

We have one along one boundary put up because the neighbour wanted it.They have three sides done,so the roos all stream in the one side that hasn't been done,yet.The property is huge,so its certainly cost them some $$.

If they do the other side, they will basically end up with a huge zoo.