Hunters 'gettting playground'
From: AAP
March 06, 2006  
ALLOWING hunting in some New South Wales state forests was more about giving shooters a public playground than eradicating pests, the NSW Greens said today.

From March 13, recreational hunters will be able to visit 31 state forests scattered throughout rural areas of the state to shoot feral animals, including pigs, goats, foxes, rabbits and wild deer.
The NSW Government says the plan is aimed at culling high numbers of introduced species.

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said allowing hunting in public areas would pose great risks to public safety and the environment.

Ms Rhiannon said the Greens supported the control of feral animals but allowing hunting in public areas was not the solution.

"We don't even see that it is a solution at all," Ms Rhiannon said.


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"There are numerous reports that hunters stock up these areas with feral animals so they have a continual supply to go out and shoot."
Ms Rhiannon said the NSW Government had introduced hunting in public areas to win over the support of Shooters Party MP John Tingle.

National chair for the National Coalition for Gun Control, Samantha Lee, backed the Greens' call, saying the government was trying to win over hunters before the next election.

"One way to do this is to turn family picnic areas into hunting grounds," Ms Lee said.

Anyone wishing to hunt in the designated state forests is required to apply for a licence through the Game Council of NSW, a government body established to help limit the impact of introduced species.

where

I'm alright Jack

Taffy

We exterminated the american bison.. why are rabbits so hard?

Quoted: We exterminated the american bison.. why are rabbits so hard?

Population biology has terms for different reproductive strategies we see in nature.

Rabbits are "r" selected species and bison are "k" selected species.

R species depend on fecundity to survive, so they are short-lived, pump out ALOT of offspring and spend little time raising them before getting ready to pump out more offspring.  Without adequate predation, these buggers will overrun an area (rabbits, mice, rats).

K species are generally long-lived, produce few offspring in which they invest ALOT of time and energy to raise.  These species are often very susceptible to over-harvesting (Bison, Elephant, Rhino, etc.)