The State Government has authorised gunmen with high powered rifles to roam 34 back roads and shoot deer during a time frame spanning almost six months.
Now under the spotlight of State Parliament, a series of questions have been asked.
The roadside shooting is currently authorised 10 days and nights each month from the end of January this year until the end of June.
Guns are equipped with suppressors and thermal imaging. A question in Parliament by Shadow Minister for Primary Industries, Nicola Centofanti, also suggests the guns being used are semi-automatic.
The shooting occurs mainly at night and is currently authorised in the Kingston District Council area, with listed roads just minutes out of the town.
Some roads are less than an hour from Naracoorte, 20 minutes from Lucindale and within meters of many family farm homes, sheds, water points and stockyards.
In State Parliament, SA Best Upper House member Connie Bonaros targeted the environment minister responsible, Susan Close.
On February 4, she highlighted to the Legislative Council information she had found on the Limestone Coast Landscape Board’s website about the shooting program.
While the board had referred to it as “ground culling operations” Ms Bonaros said she called it “ground shooting”.
“The website goes on to list some 34 roads within that precinct, all approved for roadside culling,” she said.
She listed six questions for Ms Close to answer:
- What, if any, consultation has occurred with neighbouring properties other than signposts in the area with a mobile number – presumably for the contractor?
- What, if any, assessment of the area was undertaken to determine the proximity of roadside culling to residential premises, properties and homes?
- What, if any, consultation occurred with SAPOL regarding roadside culling operations using centrefire, high-powered firearms?
- How has the risk of flying bullets or the risk to local residents been mitigated, if at all?
- What, if any, discussions have been undertaken with the contractors regarding the possibility of criminal prosecution if things go wrong?
- How on earth was roadside culling in proximity to private premises, effectively by snipers, allowed by this government, given the safety concerns that have been raised by locals in the area?
Primary Industries minister Clare Scriven said she would refer the questions to Minister Close and bring back a response.
“However, I can speak about the eradication program for feral deer in general, and point out that it works in accordance with the national code of practice and standard operating procedures for the effective and humane control of feral and wild deer,” Ms Scriven said.
As a supplementary question, Ms Bonaros then asked for the minister to confirm if the guidelines included “any consultation with SAPOL about roadside culling—not ground operations generally, but roadside culling in residential areas?”.
Shadow Primary Industries Minister Ms Centofanti asked if Ms Close was aware of the ground culling program.
And in particular, if she was “aware of the use of self-reloading firearms, otherwise known as semi-automatics, on public land?”
The Upper House president, Terry Stephens, ruled it as a reasonable question but “not really a supplementary question”.
Farmers have told The [Naracoorte] News they were not informed about the planned shooting near their properties until after Christmas when letters from the Landscape Board started to arrive.
But the person named by the board to find out more information about the roadside shooting was on leave until January 28, 2025 – eight days after the program was due to begin.
As a result of farmer concerns, the board delayed the program 10 days.
Last week as the first 10 days of shooting came to an end, a long trail of blood was found stretching up the middle of one gravel road.
The body of a headless deer lay in a clearing near Tapfield Rd.
Another farmer heard gunshots during the night, but did not know if it was from an illegal shooter, or a gunman authorised by the State Government and its landscape board.
This article appeared in the Naracoorte News.
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