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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-28 Daily Xml
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Aerial Culling

In reply to the Hon. H.M. GIROLAMO ().18 October 2023).

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): I am advised that there was an incident on 28 March 2023, during a program that was being run by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and the Department for Environment and Water. These agencies are in the portfolio of the Deputy Premier, and I understand that she has been briefed on this matter.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions was not involved in this program, which is why I have only just been briefed.

I will start by highlighting that after the incident occurred, I'm advised that a follow-up phone call by general manager of the Limestone Coast Landscape Board, Steve Bourne to the landholder confirmed that the landholder did not believe that this incident was a near miss incident and that the landholder holds no animosity towards the program.

In relation to what happened leading up to the incident, I'm advised that a landholder who had signed on to the aerial shooting operation and even verified maps and dates where and when shooting would occur, subsequently did not respond to a standard notification, which was sent to inform landholders when the shoot was about to commence. This notification was sent on 24 March 2023 via text message, which was 72 hours before the aerial shooting program commenced.

The landholder did not reply to advise that he had any concerns of that he wanted to withdraw from the program.

On 28 March 2023, the landholder sent one of his employees to a location near the area where aerial shooting was scheduled to occur. The employee was also there to shoot feral deer, albeit from the ground.

The employee of the landholder was near the shooting zone when the aerial marksman team from the Department for Environment and Water were culling deer.

The aerial marksman team were culling deer on the property for about 80 minutes, and they removed 17 feral deer.

During that time, the landholder called staff from the Murraylands and Riverlands Landscape Board to withdraw from the shoot. These staff subsequently called staff from the Limestone Coast Landscape Board, who requested that the helicopter pilot cease operations on that property.

When notified, the pilot followed protocols and ceased operating and relocated. Flight maps were modified with the property deleted from any further operations.

It was later confirmed the landholder had been contemplating withdrawing his participation in the shoot on Wednesday 22 March 2023, but the landholder had discussed this with the Murraylands and Riverlands Landscape Board, not the Limestone Coast Landscape Board who were running the shoot.

The Murraylands and Riverlands Landscape Board advised the Limestone Coast Landscape Board that the landholder was considering withdrawing and would advise further if this was confirmed. No confirmation was received by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board.

The landholder did not make his intention to withdraw from the aerial shooting operation clear to the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and the landholder did not respond to the notification that the program was about to commence.

Most importantly, I reiterate that the landholder involved did not believe that this incident was a near miss incident and the landholder holds no animosity towards the program.

Notwithstanding, the Limestone Coast Landscape Board and the SA Pest Animal Aerial Culling Committee undertook an investigation into this incident and have improved their planning processes and the clarity of their text message notifications, which they send out to give landholders 72 hours notice before the operations commence.

Regarding your second question, as to whether farmers, their workers and people in general in the South-East are safe from this practice of aerial culling, I confirm that they are safe.

The risk to people on the ground is negligible. I have described the planning and engagement with landholders to ensure that landholders are aware of these operations and remain absent from the areas where culling is occurring.

The SA Feral Deer Eradication Program has safely removed more than 9,000 feral deer since May 2022.

The eradication program works in accordance with the National Code of Practice and Standard Operating Procedures for the Effective and Humane Control of Feral and Wild Deer during aerial culls.

Aerial culling is the most effective landscape-scale tool available to rapidly reduce feral deer populations and their impacts. Thermal-assisted aerial culling improves the detection rate of feral deer in dense vegetation compared to traditional (non-thermal) aerial culling and improves the rate at which feral deer are removed.

Sightings of feral deer are confirmed by at least two personnel onboard the helicopter before shooting commences.

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