People horrified by the Shooters Party ‘Game and Feral Animal Control Amendment Bill 2009’ have contacted me from all over NSW and even Tasmania regarding articles printed here.

It turns out that not only are these correspondents totally against any Game Council hunting in National Parks of native animals (and also feral animals), but they are writing to me about shooters invading their property and, thanks to Minister Ian Macdonald, appearing at any time in State Forests designated for hunting.

One property owner has written to me claiming 13 incidents with hunters on his property in 2006-7.

These incidents have involved people armed with firearms lost outside his house at 5am, shooters having target practice and leaving rubbish on his property, shooters picnicking, shooting near his house, entering his property with pig dogs without permission, a hunter with unlicensed friends cutting his fence to bypass his gate and even parking their cars on his property.

A lady involved with a pony club at Orange wrote to me describing how parents there will no longer allow their children to ride their horses in the State Forest because they never know when the shooters will be operating.

The NPWS released a media statement last month decrying the slaughter at Rollands Plains of kangaroos which were stacked up in a pile with beer cans shoved in their pouches.

Fortunately through the publicity in The Argus and Port News someone has come forward with names. It will be interesting to see if those responsible actually had shooters licences and permission to be there.

A reader sent me clippings of a hunter shot in the back last year by his mate near Bourke and admitted to Dubbo Base Hospital in a stable but critical condition.

Last December a 13-year-old boy at Orange had an arrow removed from his chest. He recovered but the wide blade hunting arrows are meant, obviously, to kill.

I wrote recently, satirically, that soon hunters might be able to experience the thrill of bringing down a charging wombat in National Parks.

I have just received a photograph of a wombat transfixed by such an arrow and left beside the road.

These arrows are usually retrieved and one wonders whether the animal crawled away to die in agony or was just left there to make some sort of sick statement.

Be very aware we are not talking here about farmers protecting their livestock or crops from feral animals.

There are people out there with a very different mindset to the average person.

It seems the Shooters Party might regret moving this Bill, which resulted in the closing of State Parliament when the Shooters refused to support Labor’s legislation.

It seems the furore has brought out not only public uproar over the threat to native animals in National Parks, but also unleashed the growing dissatisfaction amongst users of our State Forests who feel threatened already by shooters, and concern from farmers who are constantly encountering shooters on their property or cars with shooters driving at night on roads near them.

You can often see the bullet holes in RTA fauna warning signs.

It seems the Shooters Party may have lost their battle to get into National Parks.

I received a very welcome letter from NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment, Carmel Tebbutt, on that topic.

Ms Tebbutt writes that “… the Government does not support hunting in national parks or the hunting of native animals, including waterbirds, on conservation or other grounds.

“Making national parks available for incompatible purposes like hunting threatens to undermine their value to existing users, including families and visitors to our State.

“Where native species do need to be managed, for example to mitigate damage to property or crops, existing regulatory provisions allow this to occur under strict controls.

“The Department of Environment and Climate Change also undertakes strategic feral animal control programs in national parks.

“The NSW Government is committed to the important role of our national parks and reserves in achieving our natural resource targets to conserve native flora, fauna and wetlands, increase opportunities for nature based recreation and tourism and improve community wellbeing.”

This is a very significant and courageous statement by the Minister.

This is not just an Environment Minister protecting fauna in our national parks. It will have serious ramifications for the Labor Party in NSW and for the Shooters Party.

If the Labor party stick by her on this it will cause a showdown with the Shooters Party, which holds the balance of power in the Upper House and can in effect prevent Labor from governing.

State Labor know a bloodbath awaits them in any election caused through a double dissolution at this stage, so where do they go with this?

For that matter it is not certain just where the Shooters Party stand on the prospect of another election.

They will have strengthened the redneck vote, but there will be an awful lot of hunters out there working with farmers on destroying foxes and wild dogs on an invitation basis who will not be very impressed with what this Shooters Bill is doing to their reputation without them in some cases being part of the consultation.

So there will likely be a deal to give the Shooters enough to save some face from their self-imposed debacle.

The general public, however, who do not have a vested interest in shooting things, will be wondering about single issue political parties who can hold the balance of power in our democratic system and hold our government to ransom on any legislation at all, not just their single interest.

Meanwhile for those of you who object to the Shooters Party Bill, you can sign the NSW Nature Conservation Council petition at www. naturensw.org./nohunting