SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 21 All native birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals (except the dingo) are protected in NSW by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. Although most native wildlife is protected throughout the state, the Offi ce of Environment and Heritage (OEH) can licence people to control or harm protected species. Typically, licences are issued authorising the culling or removal of protected animals from a landholder's property if the animals are shown to be a threat to human safety, damaging property or causing economic hardship. Along with the issuance of such a licence comes a strict set of licence conditions that must be adhered to at all times including, but not limited to, compliance with National Codes of Practice and Standard Operating Procedures for shooting these animals. The ongoing effects of the drought in NSW is causing more and more problems for our farmers each day, any good news is welcome, and the NSW Government has provided just that with changes to landholder licences regarding management of kangaroos. Effective 8 August 2018, experienced and licensed shooters with appropriate fi rearms can register on the Local Land Services (LLS) Kangaroo Shooter Register. Shooter details on the register are available to licensed landholders seeking assistance from professional or volunteer shooters. Note: you must register for each Local Land Service region separately. There has been some debate and concern regarding the privacy and security of information provided by volunteer shooters via this system, especially with respect to providing their residential address when registering. Local Land Services have confi rmed via the Department of Primary Industries that residential addresses of shooters are not passed onto any third party and are stored by Local Land Services as per the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998. Here's what has changed to the non-commercial landholder licences and shooter requirements: • Physical tags are no longer required. • More than two shooters may operate under a landholder licence at any time. • Shooters no longer need to be listed on the landholder's licence at the time of application and only need to be listed on landholder licence returns after culling operations. • Carcasses may be removed for personal use (but not sold, swapped or traded). In order to qualify, you must: • Have a valid fi rearms licence issued by an Australian state or territory with an appropriate genuine reason. • Have a suitable fi rearm and cartridge combination (details in the volunteer best practice guide). • Read and understand the Volunteer Non-Commercial Kangaroo Shooters Best Practice Guide, available at https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_ fi le/0005/826988/kangaroo-best-practice-guide.pdf. To register your interest as a shooter, visit https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/kangaroo. We strongly discourage members from posting photos or videos of the harming of or posing with dead native wildlife on social media. These images attract attention and can have a serious negative impact on all law-abiding fi rearms owners. Members are encouraged to research and educate themselves of all the necessary legal and ethical requirements with regards to the management of native fauna in NSW. Managing Native Fauna Helpful links: Offi ce of Environment and Heritage – Licences to control or harm native animals https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/wildlifelicences/licence-harm-kangaroos.htm https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/wildlifelicences/OccupierLicences.htm National Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos and Wallabies for Non-Commercial Purposes http://www.environment.gov.au/system/fi les/resources/133025f9-b11c-4083-8960-4bd8e3bed4a8/fi les/code-conduct-non- commercial.pdf Centre for Invasive Species Solutions – Humane Codes of Practice https://www.pestsmart.org.au/animal-welfare/humane-codes/ Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/act/1979/200

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