Guest guest Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 My sincere thnks to everyone who has sent me contacts. I will contact them all and thanks for the information. A few have asked why I want to know. Primates 4 Primates ran a zoo campaign. This campaign was done with the help of primatologists and zoologists. Because of the reports we put to the government (over several years) we eventually got the Federal Govt to accept that a national standard for all animals must be developed and accepted into legislation by each state. I am part of the committee developing the standards. I weant to push for as many conditions as spossible in the standards that will prevent zoo animals being sold to hunters. Recently a government sponsored zoo sold Black Buck deer to a person trying to establish hunting reserves. As part of the committee I want to push for legislation that will stop this happening again. If these animals are endangered as I have been told then they shouldn't be sold. However I cannot find them on any endangered list. This is from the ABC news 6th August. The antelope have been sold for breeding purposes. (AFP: Manan Vatsyayana, file photo) Map: Dubbo 2830 Concerns have been raised about the fate of about two dozen antelope sold by a zoo in central western New South Wales to a member of the Shooters Party. Greens MP Lee Rhiannon says she is alarmed that Bob McComb was able to buy the blackbuck antelope from the Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo. The Shooters Party has a bill before parliament to establish safari parks and allow recreational shooters to hunt feral animals in National parks. Ms Rhiannon says the government needs to ensure that the bill is never passed and that the animals Mr McComb owns are not hunted. " The Greens are worried that Mr McComb could exploit a loophole in the law and may be able to shoot these endangered antelopes in private hunting exercises, even if the safari parks aren't set up, " she said, The New South Wales Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt says the government has no intention of changing the law to allow safari parks. " We do not support the shooters bill which is currently before the parliament, " she said. " Game reserves are illegal in New South Wales. These deer were sold for the purposes of breeding, that's stipulated in the contract. " The Zoo's General Manager, Matt Fuller, says the property was inspected by a senior veterinarian before the sale went through. And he says laws do not permit the animals to be hunted. " If the legislative framework changes that enables people to hunt animals in those sorts of situations we would obviously adapt according to that, " he said. " We would never sell animals or trade animals with any individual which would ultimately mean they would be hunted for trophies. " Mr McComb - who owns the Dongadale Deer Park and Stud - has confirmed that he bought the animals for breeding purposes. But he concedes that laws proposed by the Shooters Party to establish safari parks could allow the antelopes to be used for hunting. " You could draw a long bow and say that somewhere down the track there's the potential for those animals, if there was obviously a surplus of them, could potentially be used that way, " he said. " But as I say there's a long bow and there's a lot of years between now and then. " Mr McComb says at the moment his antelope are being treated like princes. The following is another reason I want to push for standards that prevent the sale of zoo animals to private hands. Exotic animals sold to NT hunting safari LARINE STATHAM November 22, 2009 AAP Exotic and endangered animals from an abandoned wildlife sanctuary were sold to a hunting safari in the Northern Territory, it has been revealed. Some 300 animals, including herds of critically endangered African scimitar horned oryx and addax, were sent to Mary River Australian Safaris following two separate legal disputes. The scimitar horned oryx is extinct in the wild, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The deal had been kept quiet until the accidental shooting of a pygmy hippopotamus in the Douglas Daly region, some 200km south of Darwin, last week raised questions about the whereabouts of Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary's herbivorous animals. Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlight hunting with mates on November 12 when he shot what he thought was a pig, but was, in fact, a hippopotamus. Speculation grew that many of the animals escaped when the open plains zoo was sold in 2004, and had survived for several years in the NT outback without the help of humans. But the fantasy of a mini African menagerie wandering freely in the Top End could not be further from the truth. Warren Anderson, a millionaire property developer who established Tipperary Sanctuary in 1986, told AAP the NT government was to blame for the sanctuary's demise. " That Labor government up there destroyed that wildlife park and you can lay the blame for the predicament these animals are in squarely on their shoulders, " he said. Mr Anderson was accused of animal neglect for failing to adequately feed two of his rhinoceroses in 2003 and subsequently arrested at gunpoint, but was later exonerated. He eventually decided to sell the animals and the property. At its prime, Tipperary was home to about 2,000 animals from Africa, India and Mongolia. Mareeba Wild Animal Park, in far north Queensland, was to take most of the animals. However, the deal hit difficulties when the Mareeba sanctuary was raided in March 2004 by the Australian Federal Police and the RSPCA. The then owner of Mareeba, David Gill, fled back to the UK and sold about 300 of the animals to Mary River Australian Safaris. A spokesman for the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA) told AAP some of the more crowd-attracting animals were eventually transferred to Mareeba. A source, who did not wish to be identified, said the rest of the animals, not including any of an endangered species, were destroyed. " Otherwise they just would have been left there (at Tipperary) to starve to death, " the source told AAP. Kevin Gleeson, the owner of Mary River Australian Safaris, said he was able to save some of the animals by buying them. " I feel personally that most people turned their backs on the animals, " he told AAP. Mr Gleeson said the scimitar horned oryx herd had doubled in size since being transferred to his property, about 300km south of Darwin, and that none had been taken as trophies to date. " I've got to be able to afford to feed and keep that animal, so sustainability is the key. " Let me get those animals to a breeding stage where I have surplus, and then we will allow the hunters to take the surplus - the older animals who are no longer breeding - and then I can maintain the herd forever. " If you want to help an animal species survive today you've got to give it a value. " He said hunters were known conservationists. " If you've got an endangered animal and you haven't got any management in place for that animal - then, yes, it is criminal to shoot it. " © 2009 AAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 Dear Madam, Thank you for bringing this item to our attention. I was unaware of sport hunting in Australia at this level although I knew about the Pygmy Hippo that was killed. My mother told me yesterday that there was a news item in a television channel yesterday that thousands of camels have been shot dead in Australia recently, is this true? Regarding hunting, there is a possibility of hunting being allowed in India again with the issue of hunting licences to farmers in some North Indian states, the situation and arguments are not dissimilar to the ones mentioned in the material you have posted. Kindly find attached news item. In some cases, the hunting has already taken place and many animals killed, including Neelgai or Blue Bull. There has also been a recent article in favour of hunting written by Dr Michael Hutchins, former Director of Science of the American Zoo Association and Chief Executive Officer of the Wildlife Society. Attached below.(This relates to the hunting situation in India too as mentioned in the Indian item on Neelgai and was discussed at the recently concluded workshop on media and conservation organised by the Wildlife Institute of India in New Delhi). I confronted Dr Hutchins on this and he replied, defending his pro hunting views. Conversation appended. I disagree with Mr Hutchins but did appreciate the opportunity to raise the issue with him and he does know about animal rights/welfare concerns involved in sport and canned hunting. If antelope like Blackbuck and Scimitar Horned Oryx are being hunted in Australia, maybe you can contact Alan Green, author of ANIMAL UNDERWORLD who covered the issue in the USA, where there are more Blackbuck than in India. His email is : *AGreen* <AGreen Trust this will be of some assistance. I also hope Dr Ranjitsinh will be able to help you. His doctoral thesis on Blackbuck has been published as a book and you can obtain it from Natraj Publishers in Dehra Dun. Good luck with your information hunting. I wish you well. B & E Are the killing fields back? As the Blue Bull goes on the rampage in the fields of Uttar Pradesh, the state government wants a return to the days of bounty hunting At a time when things couldn’t get any worse for wildlife – what with species disappearing at an alarming rate, and others being forced to encroach on human lands thanks to shrinking forest covers – two incidents intwo very different parts of the world only confirm our worst fear – that when the choice is between man and nature, it’s the former that stays and latter has to make way. In the first case and in a move that has made wildlife lovers and animal rights activists in India see red, the Uttar Pradesh government has urged the Central government to allow for the unrestrained hunting of what is Asia’s largest antelope, the blue bull. It is being reported that ‘Nilgai,’ as the animal is locally known, is responsible for the loss of most of the state’s total pulse output. Bizarre as it (the suggestion of shooting down the animal on sight) may seem, the state’s reason might not be completely unfounded though. Considering that our country imports around 2-3 million tonnes of pulses each year to fill up the deficit in demand, it is a Catch-22 situation for authorities when the over three lakh Nilgai population destroys around 60-70% of the pulse crop in the state. Besides, with 1.6 million tonnes ofannual pulse output, UP’s share is a substantial 10% in the national output. The current law on hunting in India states that anyone can kill a Nilgai if – a) He or she has a valid licensed gun b) Has the requisite permission from the government, and c) Hands over the carcass to the forest department. However, indiscriminate hunting of the as-of-now healthy numbers of Nilgai seems like a bad idea. In the absence of a proper machinery to monitor their numbers, such a move is likely to drastically bring their numbers. A similar story is unfolding 13,554 kms away in the US state of Idaho. The mostly mountainous state is home to the Gray Wolf, where hunting the animal is set to begin. Hunters are bracing for a field day with loaded guns to go after the once-endangered animal and it is believed that the move could leave the state with as many as 220 wolves dead. Ironically, Idaho’s state motto is Esto Perpetua, which in Latin translates as “Let it be forever”. Coming back to the Nilgai ‘menace’, Belinda Wright, a well known conservationist says, “Sympathy towards the farmers is understandable, for the loss of crops is a loss to their livelihood. If hunting of one species is allowed, it could open up the possibility of hunting other species in the future. It’s best not to touch hunting laws at this point. Instead, other options should be considered to address the issues of the farmers. Perhaps it is one of those situations where it is difficult to make a choice in favour of either man or beast, but certainly there is need, now more than ever, to look for a more meaningful alternative like the one being worked out where castrating the male bull could at least curtail the problem… for in allowing hunting we are only curing the symptoms and not the disease... Rahul Chaudhary http://www.businessandeconomy.org/01102009/storyd.asp?sid=4722 & pageno=1 Hunting: A Green Source of Animal Protein November 25th, 2009 *The Diner’s Journal*, the *New York Time’s* blog on dining out, recently ran an article on hunting as a source of “green” animal protein. The author, Sean Patrick Ferrell, is absolutely right–both hunting and angling are vastly greener sources of animal protein than driving to the local grocery store and picking up a pound of hamburger, a dozen sausages, a few farmed trout or salmon, and a package of chicken breasts. Think of the amount of green house gases produced when animals or their parts are trucked half way across the country. And think of the pollution and waste products that are created when the meat is packaged for sale in small cellophane and styrofoam containers, all of which end up in landfills. Animal rights proponents have argued that environmental issues are one reason, along with concern about the suffering of farm animals–especially those raised on factory farms–that you should stop eating meat altogether. They also bring up human health issues, such as the high cholesterol and heart disease that can come from eating too much red meat. Exposure to antibiotics that are frequently used on farm animals is also an issue. I can’t say I disagree with them. There are some serious problems with the system by which we produce food today–and that includes both livestock *and*plants. Of course, all this does *not* necessarily argue for vegetarianism, or its more extreme expression, veganism. Humans are omnivores afterall. What it does argue for is immediate and rapid growth in public hunting and angling. Not only are free-ranging deer, turkey, fish, and other game animals highly abundant, they are also a healthier, greener, and more humane source of animal protein than that offered by your local supermarket. In fact, hunted animals are the natural equivalent of locally grown food. In addition, the meat is lean (not laced with fat like grain-fed beef or chicken), and does not contain antibiotics. It is therefore much healthier for human consumption. Hunting and angling also gets people outdoors and makes them more active, something sorely needed in our sedentary modern society. Add to that the fact that wild game animals can live freely and behave normally in their natural habitats before being killed quickly and humanely. From an animal welfare perspective, hunting and angling are thus preferable to raising animals on factory farms. There are spiritual aspects to hunting too. As the author points out, for many people, hunting or angling forges “a stronger connection with one’s food.” For many, this means “killing it, butchering and cooking it oneself.” One wildlife graduate student I know recently hunted for the first time. After having shot, butchered, cooked, and eaten her first duck, she commented that this was the very first time that she had truely felt like she was part of the “circle of life.” That is not to say that animal rights proponents would be happy about a resurgence of hunting and angling in America. They believe that hunting and angling are cruel and barbaric practices that have no part in modern society. But I disagree. The recent decline in hunting and angling in our culture is reflective of our society’s growing disconnection from nature. A resurgence of regulated hunting and angling in our culture would be good for people, good for wildlife, and good for nature. Indeed, it would represent a return to our hunting and gathering roots. Perhaps it would also give us a stronger incentive to set aside and conserve wildlife habitat. It would also help us better control populations of native and non-native species that have become artificially overpopulated to the point that they are having deleterious impacts on our environment and human health. And, last but not least, it would generate more funds for conservation through license fees and excise taxes from equipment sales. Michael Hutchins responds to me on hunting Me : I find it difficult to justify sport or trophy hunting. There are serious welfare issues with angling too. How do you view these issues? Good wishes. Michael Hutchins : I agree that people have a choice of whether or not to eat meat, and frankly I have no problem with people that voluntarily choose to consume vegetarian or vegan diets. What you eat is a personal decision, one that effects many aspects of one’s health or reproduction. Such a choice may also reflect your personal religious beliefs or values. However, in that vein, I also believe that people should be able to choose to consume animal protein. The basic concept here is one should not try to force one’s personal values on others–that is the essence of freedom. Many people in our global society feel very strongly about a good many things and opinions vary widely. In many cases, modern society is going to have to accomodate a wide variety of different lifestyles and viewpoints. So, if you don’t want to eat meat, don’t eat meat. If you don’t want to hunt or fish, then don’t hunt or fish. In the United States, our entire model of conservation–one of the most successful in the world–is based upon public access to legal hunting and angling. Hunting and angling are heavily regulated here and monies generated from license fees and excise taxes on equipment generate billions of dollars, which is used to purchase habitat and conserve both game and non-game species. As a result, most game species (e.g. white-tailed deer, alligators, Canadian geese) in this country are doing extremely well–sometimes too well. For example, we have 1.5 million deer-vehicle collisions in our country each year. (There is, in fact, a defacto culling operation going on in our urban and suburban areas, instead it is often Fords and Toyotas doing the culling, not hunters). Deer are also preventing normal forest succession, and their foraging habits are doing away with insect populations, food for small mammals and migratory birds. Deer numbers are artificially high and, from an environmental perspective, they must be controlled. Humans are omnivores afterall, and some animal protein is, in my opinion, important for human nutrition. Overdoing it, of course, is not a good idea–everything in moderation. I’ll give you an example, a former employee of mine, who became pregnant with her second child, a boy, proclaimed that she was going vegetarian during her pregnancy. I advised her against it. Human fetuses need large amounts of protein for normal brain development. But, she retorted, I’m going to eat a lot of tofu, which is a great source of protein. My response: “Have you heard about phytoestrogens? I said, look it up on the Internet and consider the possible impacts on your child’s fetal development, particularly a male fetus. She did, and although she had initially scoffed at me, immediately adopted a diet rich in animal protein for the duration of her pregnancy and nursing. Are there ethical issues anytime we kill non-human animals? Of course there are, and we should strive to take life in the most humane manner possible. Is eating meat in itself wrong? I don’t think so–as a species, we’ve been doing it for well over a million years. Although I do choose to eat meat in moderation, I want the animals I eat to be killed humanely. Do I believe that hunting and fishing are humane? Relative to raising animals on factory farms, yes, I do, for the reasons I outlined above. Human hunters and anglers–at least the ones I know–do not play with or torture their food (like feral cats). They kill as quickly as they possibly can, and with a minimum of suffering. When done properly, this is completely compatible with animal welfare philosophy. I also note that it is illegal for hunters to waste the meat. All of the hunters and anglers I know either eat the meat themselves, share with their families or friends, or donate it to food banks for the poor. Frankly, if it was up to me, I’d rather that North Americans were eating bison and other game animals instead of domestic cattle. I should also point out that there are many environmental problems with vegetarian diets. There are massive amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, and water involved in growing vegetables and fruits, not to mention the millions of acres of land taken out of wildife habitat to grow agricultural crops and green house gases produced to ship them. Yes, there are organic foods, which at least limit some of the pesticide risks and we should all be eating more locally grown vegetables, but even if society moved totally in that direction, the other impacts would still be there. The point is that, when it comes to the environment, vegetarians and vegans are far from being innocent bystanders. As far as culling is concerned, there are many cases in our modern world in which wildlife populations must be controlled. As a conservationist, I support the culling of invasive species or overabundant native species when the goal is to conserve threatened or endangered species or ecosystems. Should we choose not to cull selected populations under particular circumstances (e.g., control of predators during species restoration), many species will be lost, leading to ecosystem destabilization and possible cascading effects. Under certain circumstances, I would also support the culling of selected wildlife to ensure human livelihood and safety. This is often necessary to maintain the tenuous balance that exists between humans and wildlife. Good wishes to you too. Michael Hutchins, CEO, Wildlife Society, Former Director of Science, American Zoo Association The Wildlife Society’s Executive Director/CEO, Michael Hutchins,Ph.D., is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Maryland's Graduate Program in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology, Senior Fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Center for Behavior and Conservation and Executive Director of ZooThink, Inc., a Maryland-based consulting company that assists zoos, aquariums, conservation organizations and natural history museums in finding solutions to complex problems. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington, Seattle in 1984 where he studied the behavioral ecology of free ranging, introduced population of Rocky Mountain goats in Olympic National Park. The Wildlife Society (TWS), founded in 1937, is an international non-profit scientific and educational association dedicated to excellence in wildlife stewardship through science and education. Our mission is to represent and serve the professional community of scientists, managers, educators, technicians, planners, and others who work actively to study, manage, and conserve wildlife and its habitats worldwide. The Wildlife Society encourages professional growth through certification, peer-reviewed publications, conferences and working groups. Society members are dedicated to sustainable management of wildlife resources and their habitats. Ecology is the primary scientific discipline of the wildlife profession, therefore, the interests of the Society embrace the interactions of all organisms with their natural environments. The Society recognizes that humans, as other organisms, have a total dependency upon the environment. It is the Society’s belief also that wildlife, in its myriad forms, is basic to the maintenance of a human culture that provides quality living. On 12/19/09, Lynette Shanley <primates4primates wrote: > > > > My sincere thnks to everyone who has sent me contacts. I will contact > them all and thanks for the information. > > A few have asked why I want to know. > > Primates 4 Primates ran a zoo campaign. This campaign was done with > the help of primatologists and zoologists. Because of the reports we > put to the government (over several years) we eventually got the > Federal Govt to accept that a national standard for all animals must > be developed and accepted into legislation by each state. > > I am part of the committee developing the standards. I weant to push > for as many conditions as spossible in the standards that will prevent > zoo animals being sold to hunters. > > Recently a government sponsored zoo sold Black Buck deer to a person > trying to establish hunting reserves. As part of the committee I want > to push for legislation that will stop this happening again. > > If these animals are endangered as I have been told then they > shouldn't be sold. However I cannot find them on any endangered list. > > This is from the ABC news 6th August. > The antelope have been sold for breeding purposes. (AFP: Manan > Vatsyayana, file photo) > > Map: Dubbo 2830 > Concerns have been raised about the fate of about two dozen antelope > sold by a zoo in central western New South Wales to a member of the > Shooters Party. > > Greens MP Lee Rhiannon says she is alarmed that Bob McComb was able to > buy the blackbuck antelope from the Taronga Western Plains Zoo at > Dubbo. > > The Shooters Party has a bill before parliament to establish safari > parks and allow recreational shooters to hunt feral animals in > National parks. > > Ms Rhiannon says the government needs to ensure that the bill is never > passed and that the animals Mr McComb owns are not hunted. > > " The Greens are worried that Mr McComb could exploit a loophole in the > law and may be able to shoot these endangered antelopes in private > hunting exercises, even if the safari parks aren't set up, " she said, > > The New South Wales Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt says the > government has no intention of changing the law to allow safari parks. > > " We do not support the shooters bill which is currently before the > parliament, " she said. > > " Game reserves are illegal in New South Wales. These deer were sold > for the purposes of breeding, that's stipulated in the contract. " > > The Zoo's General Manager, Matt Fuller, says the property was > inspected by a senior veterinarian before the sale went through. > > And he says laws do not permit the animals to be hunted. > > " If the legislative framework changes that enables people to hunt > animals in those sorts of situations we would obviously adapt > according to that, " he said. > > " We would never sell animals or trade animals with any individual > which would ultimately mean they would be hunted for trophies. " > > Mr McComb - who owns the Dongadale Deer Park and Stud - has confirmed > that he bought the animals for breeding purposes. > > But he concedes that laws proposed by the Shooters Party to establish > safari parks could allow the antelopes to be used for hunting. > > " You could draw a long bow and say that somewhere down the track > there's the potential for those animals, if there was obviously a > surplus of them, could potentially be used that way, " he said. > > " But as I say there's a long bow and there's a lot of years between > now and then. " > > Mr McComb says at the moment his antelope are being treated like princes. > > The following is another reason I want to push for standards that > prevent the sale of zoo animals to private hands. > > Exotic animals sold to NT hunting safari > LARINE STATHAM > November 22, 2009 > AAP > > Exotic and endangered animals from an abandoned wildlife sanctuary > were sold to a hunting safari in the Northern Territory, it has been > revealed. > > Some 300 animals, including herds of critically endangered African > scimitar horned oryx and addax, were sent to Mary River Australian > Safaris following two separate legal disputes. > > The scimitar horned oryx is extinct in the wild, according to the > International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). > > The deal had been kept quiet until the accidental shooting of a pygmy > hippopotamus in the Douglas Daly region, some 200km south of Darwin, > last week raised questions about the whereabouts of Tipperary Wildlife > Sanctuary's herbivorous animals. > > Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlight hunting with mates on November 12 > when he shot what he thought was a pig, but was, in fact, a > hippopotamus. > > Speculation grew that many of the animals escaped when the open plains > zoo was sold in 2004, and had survived for several years in the NT > outback without the help of humans. > > But the fantasy of a mini African menagerie wandering freely in the > Top End could not be further from the truth. > > Warren Anderson, a millionaire property developer who established > Tipperary Sanctuary in 1986, told AAP the NT government was to blame > for the sanctuary's demise. > > " That Labor government up there destroyed that wildlife park and you > can lay the blame for the predicament these animals are in squarely on > their shoulders, " he said. > > Mr Anderson was accused of animal neglect for failing to adequately > feed two of his rhinoceroses in 2003 and subsequently arrested at > gunpoint, but was later exonerated. > > He eventually decided to sell the animals and the property. > > At its prime, Tipperary was home to about 2,000 animals from Africa, > India and Mongolia. > > Mareeba Wild Animal Park, in far north Queensland, was to take most of > the animals. > > However, the deal hit difficulties when the Mareeba sanctuary was > raided in March 2004 by the Australian Federal Police and the RSPCA. > > The then owner of Mareeba, David Gill, fled back to the UK and sold > about 300 of the animals to Mary River Australian Safaris. > > A spokesman for the Australasian Regional Association of Zoological > Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA) told AAP some of the more crowd-attracting > animals were eventually transferred to Mareeba. > > A source, who did not wish to be identified, said the rest of the > animals, not including any of an endangered species, were destroyed. > > " Otherwise they just would have been left there (at Tipperary) to > starve to death, " the source told AAP. > > Kevin Gleeson, the owner of Mary River Australian Safaris, said he was > able to save some of the animals by buying them. > > " I feel personally that most people turned their backs on the > animals, " he told AAP. > > Mr Gleeson said the scimitar horned oryx herd had doubled in size > since being transferred to his property, about 300km south of Darwin, > and that none had been taken as trophies to date. > > " I've got to be able to afford to feed and keep that animal, so > sustainability is the key. > > " Let me get those animals to a breeding stage where I have surplus, > and then we will allow the hunters to take the surplus - the older > animals who are no longer breeding - and then I can maintain the herd > forever. > > " If you want to help an animal species survive today you've got to > give it a value. " > > He said hunters were known conservationists. > > " If you've got an endangered animal and you haven't got any management > in place for that animal - then, yes, it is criminal to shoot it. " > > © 2009 AAP > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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