Thread: Rodent baits and their effect on native fauna

Originally Posted by Tins

.................It is completely risible to think man can control nature, but there are $billions available for those who can convince folk that they can, so of course they claim they can. It's high time people woke up.

When it comes to dingoes, I think the theory says, instead of the farmer trying to control the dingo breeding they rely on the alpha pack leader to do that for them.

Originally Posted by scarry

It’s been documented many times,recreation,and sporting shooters generally only take a small percentage of vermin.

There was a time when foxes were nearly totally eradicated by shooters. This was when fox skins were big money earners aka one skin was worth some $60......and this was back in the 1980s so allowing for inflation that would be over $100 in todays terms. The market plummeted so shooters stopped chasing them so the foxes bred up again. The marker plummeted due to animal protectionist activities.

Away from farmlands in State Forests and National Parks the fox numbers have eroded to nearly a total wipe out. The cause is the wild dogs targeting both adult foxes and their pups as a food source.

Deer were mentioned in an earlier post. In Victoria hunters take some 120,000 sambar each year. That is a significant hit to their numbers.

Originally Posted by Grumbles

There was a time when foxes were nearly totally eradicated by shooters. This was when fox skins were big money earners aka one skin was worth some $60......and this was back in the 1980s so allowing for inflation that would be over $100 in todays terms. The market plummeted so shooters stopped chasing them so the foxes bred up again. The marker plummeted due to animal protectionist activities.

Away from farmlands in State Forests and National Parks the fox numbers have eroded to nearly a total wipe out. The cause is the wild dogs targeting both adult foxes and their pups as a food source.

Deer were mentioned in an earlier post. In Victoria hunters take some 120,000 sambar each year. That is a significant hit to their numbers.

Foxes were no where near eradicated in the 80's in Qld,as we hunted them extensively.Shooting didnt seem to dent the population,same for cats.
Once 1080 was used,they dissapered,together with wild cats,but as soon as the baiting was stopped,they returned pretty quickly,same sort of numbers,even today.
The national parks here are full of foxes,cats,pigs and wild horses,and Dogs.The problem is huge in the northern areas of the state.
Qld NP needs a system like other states have to cull the vermin in our NP's.

Good to see Samabr numbers are being kept in check in Victoria,about 10% of the population shot by hunters each year.
But that is only in Vic,they are in many other areas of the country and need eradicating.

Originally Posted by scarry

Foxes were no where near eradicated in the 80's in Qld,as we hunted them extensively.Shooting didnt seem to dent the population,same for cats.
Once 1080 was used,they dissapered,together with wild cats,but as soon as the baiting was stopped,they returned pretty quickly,same sort of numbers,even today.
The national parks here are full of foxes,cats,pigs and wild horses,and Dogs.The problem is huge in the northern areas of the state.
Qld NP needs a system like other states have to cull the vermin in our NP's.

Good to see Samabr numbers are being kept in check in Victoria,about 10% of the population shot by hunters each year.
But that is only in Vic,they are in many other areas of the country and need eradicating.

Parks Vic have had the pros in with helicopters in the Grampians the last couple of years, pinging red deer and goats.

Can't say I've seen a lot of damage from either in over 60 years, but they don't belong there simple as that.

Have walked up to within about 10m of a 9 point stag once in the middle of nowhere there. He just stood and looked at me. Plenty of other close encounters, the deer were pretty tame. They walk right through D'Altons Resort in Halls Gap.

I was opposed to 'sporting' shooters having a season on them in the park unless all they got to use was a pocket knife. No way it would have been sporting using a gun.

I hope something useful happens with the carcasses.

DL

Originally Posted by 350RRC

I hope something useful happens with the carcasses.

The meat from a deer taken from a carcass shot by a licensed recreational hunter can be given away to friends and relatives. It cannot be sold. Zoos will not take this meat either.

The deer shot by government employed pro cullers, usually from a chopper, are normally left to rot where they fell.

Originally Posted by Grumbles

The meat from a deer taken from a carcass shot by a licensed recreational hunter can be given away to friends and relatives. It cannot be sold. Zoos will not take this meat either.

The deer shot by government employed pro cullers, usually from a chopper, are normally left to rot where they fell.

Is that due to lead poisoning?

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Is that due to lead poisoning?

Good point.

I do stuff for the state Gov that requires mega public liability and ethics. I'm not killing anything.

Can see the liability thing being an issue for the public service in their isolated offices, even using carcasses for pet food.

I cringe to think about the hoops the shooting contractors would have to go through before passing 'ethics' unless it was fast tracked. No way in Vic it would have been side tracked IME.

DL

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Is that due to lead poisoning?

No. Several government departments including the Health Department get involved with a stack of regs regarding wild meat taken for the chillers. All meat products supplied to Zoos is expected to meet the same standards as if it was for human consumption. The same applies for meat for the pet food industry.

Many bullets these days have no lead in them. They can be constructed from a composite of various metals or even are just solid copper.