Gday

[Profty 0]

Hi All,

 

I'm Alex from Australia, and i've always had a love of the out doors.

 

I first started hunting about 5 years ago with a mates .22 on a farm many hours west of Sydney, with rabbits foxes and goats galore.

Since then i've graduated onto pigs and Deer. All these are feral species and in Australia for the most part ferals are the only creatures which my be taken.

 

I was speaking to a british mate of mine who is also a keen bird shooter, who told me that he thought fox hunting was terrible.

I realise that there is confusion over this term. Firstly for us the practice of casing Foxes down with dogs and horses is highly Illegal, immoral and ineffective and anyone caught doing so would face minimum 5 years jail over here.

What some don't understand is that Foxes are the most harmful introduced animal to Australia and particularly my state New South Wales Causing close to a 500 million $ in Lifestock damage (new born lambs mainly) and has caused the extinction of countless species of small native mammals and birds. Myself and every other hunter in Aussie endeavors to shoot every one that come across our paths.

 

All the creatures mentioned above are classed as pest animals with the exception of deer, which are a game animal with seasons and some bag limits. We have birds on the game animal list but they are only found and shot in southern and colder parts of Australia.

 

Another difference we have to UK hunting, is Bow hunting which is now almost more popular the using firearms. It is properly regulated and anyone wishing to hunt this way must pass a series of tests.

 

Traditionally in Australia private property hunting is quite unregulated and difficult to police. However in Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, Licensed and tested hunters both bow, firearm, and pig hunters using dogs are free to hunt on public land such as state forests and some crown land. This has revolutionised hunting over here and since 2000 the number of hunters has doubled and is no longer just a privilege for farmers/wealthy landowners, those who are friends of these, or of coarse indigenous Australians who have land rights to hunt whatever they chose.

 

Enough rambling, Good hunting, and most of all Safe Hunting

[trapper123 7]

welcome mate,i hope you put some good pics up similar to that of downunder ferreter.

[farmboy99 1]

welcome mate good first post, pretty interesting to hear what it's like over there. does the 5 year stretch count for coursing rabbit etc aswell or is it just foxes? over here hunting fox with dogs is a tradition and part of our heritage and i for one am completely for it. i will be voting conservative and hoping the hunting ban is overturned.

it sounds that you have quite a good set up for hunters over there. if i were caught hunting on national trust land i dont think i'd get off lightly!

all the best to you -tom

[The one 8,578]

Hello and welcome mate