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Culling of Feral goats in Australia


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I am a member of an organization in Australia that helps to control Feral goats in my State.

Recently an associate went to the Flinders Ranges with a group of Shooters ( about 30 guys ), they went to an area in a National Park where their task was to find and shoot all Feral goats they could. This is about 4hrs from the city and done at the request and supervision of 'National Parks Staff'.

The reports came back that in 7 days they 'culled' - 1400+ goats with some Shooters running out of ammunition.

While this sounds like a slaughter, it is actually an important part of Conservation, as the goats are feral, and damage the fragile environment in the Park.

The previous work of removing Feral goats in the Park allowed native plants to regrow and flourish and in turn that provided feed for the native animals but also allowed goat numbers to increase again in a few short years.

While 1400+ goats seems like a large number to shoot and leave on the ground, it could have been much larger except that the larger males, females without kids, had all been removed for sales to markets, the value of these goats is some where around $5.00/kg live weight recently. If it was possible to remove all live goats to market there is a substantial pot of money to be made, but the country is very rough and not vehicle friendly.

Are there any large groups of animals in the UK that require the same attention of 'culling' ?

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4 hours ago, 17hornet said:

Are there any large groups of animals in the UK that require the same attention of 'culling' ?

Yeah, deer. In certain areas of the country they browse all the bottom out of woodland (similar to your goat situation) leading to no ground cover for ground nesting birds which obviously increases predation and threatens the populations of those critters so dependant on it. Badgers are currently being culled quite intensively under license too, but that's for disease control.

The goat cull sounds a crack though! I could get into that.

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Hi BH, thats interesting about the deer, here in most States the deer are also counted as Ferals (definitely in my State) but other States they are a 'game animals' and hunting is a little bit restricted. I dont believe they are doing too much damage to trees but do compete for grasses.

Our 'Conservation and Wildlife Management' group have been asked to clear the deer from a forest south of my city Adelaide, pretty much all Fallow deer with a few reds, this will be done primarily under spotlight, shooting from 4WD's with groups rotating thru a few weeks. I would look forward to that, and bring a few home for the freezer.  :thumbs:

In the field we find plenty of goats in trees, they like the new shooting tips of branches, the places they climb to leave me thinking they have glue on their feet, until you see one fall then climb straight back up ! LOL

Camels are out of control here too, open season targets, but even with so many, it is hard to find them without air support.

 

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17 hours ago, forest of dean redneck said:

Nothing edible really,rats and seagulls spring to mind.

A couple of days ago I had a bad experience with a large gull, I think they are Pacific Gulls. Bugger snatched a squid from me when fishing, and I'm still a little peeved about it. Sling shot in hand next time..... :diablo:     and a pocket full of pink paintballs.  :rofl:

Rats and Pigeons come onto the radar too as groups of ferals.

Edited by 17hornet
humour I forgot to inject
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3 hours ago, 17hornet said:

Hi BH, thats interesting about the deer, here in most States the deer are also counted as Ferals (definitely in my State) but other States they are a 'game animals' and hunting is a little bit restricted. I dont believe they are doing too much damage to trees but do compete for grasses.

Our 'Conservation and Wildlife Management' group have been asked to clear the deer from a forest south of my city Adelaide, pretty much all Fallow deer with a few reds, this will be done primarily under spotlight, shooting from 4WD's with groups rotating thru a few weeks. I would look forward to that, and bring a few home for the freezer.  :thumbs:

In the field we find plenty of goats in trees, they like the new shooting tips of branches, the places they climb to leave me thinking they have glue on their feet, until you see one fall then climb straight back up ! LOL

Camels are out of control here too, open season targets, but even with so many, it is hard to find them without air support.

 

I've been watching a bit of an Aussie bow hunter called Adam Greentree recently. I've gathered that much of what you guys do is about controlling invasive species. Hogs, Water Buffalo, feral dogs etc. It looks like you guys have a fair bit to go at tbh.

Over here in the UK we don't have as many invasive species as you guys so they only make up a small amount of our hunting/shooting sport. I would say over here other than the sport focused stuff like the pheasant shooting industry and fox hunting, most of our hunting/shooting is about controlling agricultural pests.

The US seems to be different again. They're hunting has a strong focus on population management balanced with the right to harvest wild meat and fur.

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12 hours ago, forest of dean redneck said:

You cull scrub bulls? 17hornet.

No I dont, have not had that opportunity, but I am told that they are pretty finicky, let you get close and then go you. Apparently worse than the Water Buffalo that inhabit the wetter area's of the Northern Territory. Problem is that solid cattle are bred in the same area, and it has happened that prize bulls have been dropped by mistake, an expensive mistake. All those area's you need permits from Landholders or Tribes, so they soon know who has done what and where, just dont rock that boat I reckon.

That opportunity will come up in the near future, a mate in Darwin (NT) has offered to do a boys out week, Fish, Buff, Bulls, Pigs all on the list, maybe Donkeys, Horses might be there too.

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12 hours ago, Born Hunter said:

I've been watching a bit of an Aussie bow hunter called Adam Greentree recently. I've gathered that much of what you guys do is about controlling invasive species. Hogs, Water Buffalo, feral dogs etc. It looks like you guys have a fair bit to go at tbh.

Over here in the UK we don't have as many invasive species as you guys so they only make up a small amount of our hunting/shooting sport. I would say over here other than the sport focused stuff like the pheasant shooting industry and fox hunting, most of our hunting/shooting is about controlling agricultural pests.

The US seems to be different again. They're hunting has a strong focus on population management balanced with the right to harvest wild meat and fur.

BH you are spot on there in my opinion.

We have a BIG country and the native animals are in a harsh fragile place all over it. Few major predators and space to roam, make it a perfect place to breed up and damage what is there. Even our presence on the land providing permanent water sources that native animals use, give the natives opportunity to breed up into large numbers that need to be controlled.

All these animals both feral and native are spread out and not so close by, only 30 million people and living mostly on the coast in cities, not that many actually hunt, so while we have variety, we have a huge amount of distance to cover before ever getting to the hunt, distance = cost + time, do the math. Those that live in the right places are blessed if they are hunters.

Locally it gets as big as maybe pigs and deer, mostly goats and down. Getting land access is harder and harder all the time, its a trust issue because too many people have done the wrong thing in the past, and when its your private land...  responsibility and trust is very precious.

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