Will Clarence Valley Council follow where Coffs Harbour City leads?

MINUTES OF COFFS HARBOUR CITY COUNCIL ORDINARY MEETING June 14, 2012:

NOM12/2 GAME AND FERAL ANIMAL CONTROL

131 RESOLVED (Graham/Knight) that:

Council note that:

1. The NSW government has a proposal on the table which would see children

as young as 12, with their parents' permission, able to hunt unsupervised on

public land in NSW.

2. This would see children able to hunt using bows and arrows, pig dogs, and

bowie knives without any adult supervision.

3. Hunting wild pigs using dogs and knives is considered, even for adults, to be dangerous for the hunter and the dogs, and an unnecessarily stressful death for the animal.

4. It is irresponsible for any government to be proposing an activity which will be

dangerous for the children involved and others who use public land for

recreational purposes.

5. While feral animal control is an important activity, it is best done professionally and as humanely as possible for the animals involved.

Council:

1. Oppose this dangerous proposal by the NSW government; and

2. Make a submission to the Department of Primary Industries voicing that

opposition.

NOM12/3 OPPOSITION TO PRIVATE SHOOTING IN NATIONAL PARKS

132 RESOLVED (Graham/Arkan) that:

Council note:

1. The NSW Government is seeking to allow private shooting in national parks

and other conservation reserves.

2. The NSW Government proposes to allow private shooting in conservation

reserves in the Coffs Harbour Local Government Area.

3. It is irresponsible for any government to be proposing an activity which will be

dangerous to members of the public and others who use conservation

reserves for recreational purposes.

4. While feral animal control is an important activity, it is only safe and effective

when undertaken professionally and as humanely as possible. This can only

be achieved through the resourcing of professional control programs

implemented by state conservation agencies.

Council:

1. Oppose this dangerous proposal by the NSW government; and

2. Write to the Premier and the Environment Minister in opposition to the

proposal to allow private shooting in conservation reserves.

ALL BUT 48 of the state's almost 800 national parks could eventually be opened up to recreational hunters, according to a Shooters and Fishers MP.
In a video posted online, Robert Borsak said hunting would ''eventually'' be declared in 751 parks.
''There are 780, 790 national parks in NSW, all of which, except about 40, will be eventually declared for hunting,'' Mr Borsak said in the interview, conducted at the government-sponsored Shot Expo for shooters and hunters.