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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-09-12 Daily Xml
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Aerial Culling

The Hon. C. BONAROS (14:52): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development a question about the aerial culling of wildlife.

Leave granted.

The Hon. C. BONAROS: In recent days, I have been speaking with a young man who told me of his and a mate's harrowing account as two recreational hunters who were legally hunting on a private property near Naracoorte in the state's South-East when a helicopter appeared overhead with a gun-approved culling team on board and began shooting at deer below.

Fearing for his life, the young man told me—and he doesn't want to be named—he ran for the scrub into a clearing on the property and began waving and shouting at the helicopter while his friend flashed lights from a vehicle in pursuit of that helicopter. He is in no doubt that the people on board the helicopter saw him, despite conflicting comments at different points in time and in the media. Once they did see him, the man says they flew about 200 to 300 metres away and began shooting again for at least another 20 minutes, again despite assertions that they ceased shooting once he was spotted.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regions has confirmed the incident occurred and has undertaken an independent review of the protocols that happened and the incident itself. According to a PIRSA official, the helicopter was fitted with three cameras, including military-grade thermal imaging, none of which detected the hunters. It remains unclear if the property owner was notified prior to the incident of the planned aerial shooting over the property and whether in fact it was the correct property.

My questions to the minister are against the backdrop of concerns around PIRSA's aerial culling program and the dangers it presents both to human life and animal ethics:

1. Has that review been undertaken and completed and by whom?

2. What, if any, findings and recommendations have been made?

3. Will they be publicly disclosed?

4. Did the private property owner give permission for the culling to occur on their property?

5. How often is aerial culling undertaken and what are the normal protocols that need to be followed prior to, during and following the operation?

6. In response to the minister's earlier response today where she said that best practice is used, has she had concerns raised with her to the contrary both in terms of risks to human safety and animal ethics?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:55): I thank the honourable member for her question. I am advised that during an aerial cull on the Limestone Coast on 25 March 2023 an incident occurred that involved the culling of feral deer on a property that had been approved by a private forestry company, but a portion of the land had in fact been leased to a private entity who had not at that stage given permission.

Unknown to the helicopter crew, a recreational hunter was on the ground at the time and was reportedly frightened when deer were culled about 350 metres away from him. There was footage of the incident which was released on social media on 4 September 2023. Similarly, there was also footage available from the three cameras which are on a helicopter that is involved in an aerial culling program. I am advised that that confirms that the helicopter was several hundred metres from the recreational shooter. The footage on social media shows the hunter was understandably angry about the helicopter shooting deer on the property.

The information that I have is that, because of the distance from the recreational hunter, there was not a significant risk to him and that the issue had arisen because of that change in ownership—the lease to a private entity. The owner of the land where the incident occurred has since formally approved the helicopter culling of feral deer on his property.

I am advised that there has also been implemented a now triple-checking in terms of, I understand, three databases to ensure that all records in terms of ownership or leasing of property are up to date. I am advised that that is done and confirmed the day before any planned culling program.

Secondly, in terms of safety, the aerial culling programs are done in South Australia in accordance with strict protocols. Those protocols are publicly available in the code of practice and standard operating procedures for aerial culling of feral deer. PIRSA is able to and does undertake audits of all helicopter operations using the footage from cameras which are within the cockpit of the helicopter to ensure that all procedures are being followed.

Aerial culling occurs over both public land and private land and is considered the most effective control tool for reducing feral deer populations. Prior to any aerial control program, government staff obtain approval from land managers where the culling will occur and aerial shooting only occurs on those properties. Obviously, in this case there was an issue with the up-to-date level of information about the ownership.

Neighbouring landholders are also advised so that no landholders are surprised or frightened. In the event that an aerial culling operation needs to fly over land which has not had approval, it will usually rise up higher to traverse across the top and then descend back to the appropriate levels for culling on the land where the permission has been granted.

Aerial shooting teams are expert, trained, accredited and professional pilots and marksmen. Team members follow strict flight procedures and risk assessments. For the aerial culling operations to occur, the helicopter needs to fly as low as 20 metres. Low flying by accredited pilots is permitted under Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations.

In terms of the processes that the honourable member referred to, strict plans and procedures are in place to ensure feral deer are humanely culled. There is a requirement for a minimum of two shots per feral deer and a deliberate fly-back procedure to confirm death and ensure that no animals are left injured. A South Australian pest animal aerial culling steering committee has been established to oversee aerial culling activities in this state. Members of the committee include the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, the Department for Environment and Water, regional landscape boards, SA Water and ForestrySA.

The incident has been reviewed, as I have outlined. One thing that I think is really worth mentioning is how important it is to eradicate or reduce or control feral deer. They are a declared pest under the Landscape South Australia Act 2019, and it is a requirement of land managers that they remove all feral deer from their properties. South Australia's feral deer population is estimated to be about 40,000, but population models indicate there will be more than 200,000 in 10 years, even with previous control programs in mind.

A recent independent cost-benefit analysis of feral deer control found that under previous control programs—as in if they are not increased—production losses could increase from $36 million to $242 million over a 10-year period. In response, the commonwealth and state governments and landscape boards have invested $4 million over four years as part of an 11-year program to eradicate feral deer from South Australia.

It's also worth mentioning that the damage from feral deer is not only to livestock and agricultural enterprises but is also very significant to environmental biodiversity and other environmental issues. I don't have the amounts in front of me, but I do recall seeing that the damage done by feral deer equates to the grazing of, I think, many hundreds of sheep. I won't want to be quoted on that because I can't remember the exact details, but it does really indicate the level of destruction that feral deer do have on the landscape as well as to agricultural enterprises.

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