Contacts

Darling Downs Branch Contacts
Rick Stahlhut
Mary-Gympie Valley Branch Contacts
Les Kowitz
Brisbane Branch Contacts
Paul Swan 0732975944
Adrian Fischle 0738061488

Property-based Game Management Plans

What are Property-based Game Management Plans?

Property-based Game Management Plans [PBGMPs] are property-specific written agreements between landowners and hunters facilitated by a property coordinator. The purpose of PBGMPs is to manage wild game at levels compatible with agriculture, forestry and the environment while providing for sustainable hunting opportunities and fair compensation to the landowner. The plans can be simple or complex depending upon the landowner’s circumstances and needs. These agreements assist landowners in the planning of an integrated approach to wildlife management and, as such, can become important components of Whole Farm Plans. This program has been highly successful in Tasmania with approximately 266 landowners and thousands of recreational hunters already operating under management plans with many others expressing interest in developing plans. These properties total an area of more than 150,000 ha across Tasmania. Following the recent introduction of the Firearms Act 1996, many landowners and hunters have recognised the need to formalise their relationship. PBGMPs are the obvious means to formalise this relationship while at the same time having it recognised by Government. The opening statement of every plan makes it clear that the plans are not legally binding and that the landowner can cancel or alter the plan at any time.

Benefits of Property-Based Game Management Plans

Listed below are just some of the potential benefits of a Property-based Game Management Plan with the QDMG.

• assists landowners in meeting their obligations under the Land Protection [Pest and Stock Route Management] Act 2002
• provides legal peace of mind with hunters covered by public liability insurance
• provides access to the latest information on wildlife control methods
• formalises the relationship between a landowner and his/her hunters
• reduces the time, effort and resources required to manage game and pest animals
• improves hunter behaviour through codes of ethics and codes of conduct
• improves hunter safety through the adherence to a code of safety
• provides for hunters to sign legal indemnity forms if desired
• provides a simple and efficient monitoring program for game and other wildlife
• provides opportunities for hunters to participate in conservation initiatives, property improvements or other activities as desired by the landowner
• provides strategies to reduce illegal hunting activities and trespassing

Public Liability Insurance and Hunting

Our society is becoming more litigious [sue happy], meaning that both landowners and hunters across the nation are being forced to seriously consider their legal liability while hunting. Today’s hunters face liabilities far different than in days past, when finding game and putting food on the table was the hunter’s main concern and a landowner worried very little if friends or neighbours hunted on his property. Today, many hunters and landowners feel the risk of these new liabilities. Therefore landowners require hunters to carry liability insurance.

These concerns are valid. Both landowners and hunters assume some degree of legal risk while on a property. Common law principles provide the legal parameters regarding the rights and duties of landowners. Under common law, landowners have a duty to guests, those paying to hunt and, to a lesser degree, trespassers. Landowners have the duty to inspect their property, remove hidden dangers, keep the property in a reasonably safe condition, and take precautions to protect users from foreseeable danger.

Public liability insurance that is frequently required is often misunderstood. Simplified, public liability insurance is designed to provide coverage for hunters for acts which they could be held legally responsible. Thus, the insurance is designed to lessen the risk associated with occurrences caused by a negligent act of hunters.

Clearly, all hunters and landowners should be aware of the risks they are taking by not having adequate liability insurance. It’s simply not worth risking all of your personal assets or your family’s security for unfortunate accidents or for the acts of hunters.

The Queensland Deer Management Group [QDMG] members are part of the Australian Deer Association and are therefore covered by their public liability insurance.

Here’s what the policy includes:

• $10 Million Per Occurrence General Public Liability Coverage
• Voluntary workers Coverage
• Member-to-Member Coverage
• Liability Coverage for firearms, mobile equipment, hunting dogs, and more.

This comprehensive policy provides liability protection for occurrences arising from operations of the hunt club, its members, guests, agents, or employees

Quality Deer Management

The Managed Land Difference…

While the days are still hot and summery in most states, night-time temperatures will soon begin to drop. With the plummeting mercury comes the first signal that fall and rut hunting are only a few weeks away. You should have of already started your planning or scouting, if you haven’t now is the time to get busy if you expect to be successful.

Consider four kinds of deer hunts.

Guided hunt
The first is a one-on-one guided hunt on private land with all the amenities. You will be well taken care of throughout, and your chances of tagging a trophy stag are reasonable. The costs are high. Most can’t afford to hunt every year this way.

Mate’s place
The second is hunting on the mates place thinking you are the only one with access. Your odds of harvesting a stag are 10-30 percent, or maybe one day if lucky a trophy stag that slipped by the poachers. Only so many mates with all so many hunters.

Poaching
The third hunt is the poacher’s way by illegally trespassing on private or crown land. The risks are high: loss of firearms, criminal charges, loss of friends, loss of credibility. You can never share the truth with any respectable hunter of your exploits.

Deer Managed hunting land
On the fourth, a managed hunting block you can have the best of all worlds. All four sound like great adventures. Costs of the first option can approach $4,000 per trip. The second costs near to nothing, hopefully not too much begging or loss of friendship. The third can cost you every thing. The fourth can cost as little as $50 a year [ADA blocks] to thousands for part ownership in a syndicate. Now maybe we should look at a few more of the advantages of that fourth option more closely. You will be hunting on private land managed for the development of deer for hunting, staying in accommodation designed for hunters in the heart of the hunting area. You usually will be with other friend hunters. Not as many poachers as the land is patrolled. Your odds for a trophy stag gets better ever year as management plans and principles pay off. Hunting the same area, year after year, is a huge advantage because eventually you should get a pretty good picture of where the stags run. For the same cost as the first hunt, you could hunt on a e.g. ADA block for 80 years. On the other hand, if you set aside the funds, and want that guaranteed trophy stag this year your best opportunity will come from an experienced outfitter. The majority of deer hunting is done on private land; however, the majority of the deer hunting methods you read about, or watch on television are done on well-managed private land. Have you ever wondered why the deer you see on television do not behave the same as the deer you see while hunting? Hunting deer on managed land is different from hunting on land that is managed for commercial hunts or the mate’s place in three major ways.

Hunting pressure brings simple mathematics into the picture, and is the first major factor to consider. In some areas you might have many more hunters than stags. By the end of the first day of hunting, there might not be many big stags remaining. Pressure causes deer to behave differently. Deer pushed by hunters can become mostly nocturnal during hunting season. This means you generally are not hunting deer that are making their natural movements. Hunting pressure is maintained on managed land. Hunters are allocated to management blocks on a specific hunter to deer ratio. The second major factor is the stag to hind ratio. Well-managed deer blocks sometimes maintain stag to hind ratios near two hinds for each stag. You might have to contend with 20 hinds for each stag on heavily hunted commercial land or the mate’s place. Age structure is the third major factor that makes hunting on managed land different. On many managed hunting lands, stags must reach a minimum size before being harvested. As a result, older deer with trophy racks are abundant. In addition, natural food is often supplemented with food designed specifically to promote antler growth. Age is the primary limiting factor on antler size on most land. Few stags live long enough to grow trophy racks because most hunters shoot the first stag they see. The concept of deer hunters becoming deer managers is proven around the world. Think about your hunting future…

Quality Deer Management is a management philosophy/practice that unites landowners, hunters, and managers in a common goal of producing biologically and socially balanced deer herds within existing environmental, social, and legal constraints. This approach typically involves the protection of young stags [yearlings and some 2.5 year-olds] combined with an adequate harvest of female deer to maintain a healthy population in balance with existing habitat conditions and landowner desires. This level of deer management involves the production of quality deer [stags, hinds, and fawns], quality habitat, quality hunting experiences, and, most importantly, quality hunters. A successful program requires an increased knowledge of deer biology and active participation in management. This level of involvement extends the role of the hunter from mere consumer to manager. The progression from education to understanding, and finally to respect, bestows an ethical obligation upon the hunter to practice sound deer management. Consequently, to an increasing number of landowners and hunters, Quality Deer Management is a desirable alternative to traditional management which allows the harvest of any legal stag and few, if any, hinds. Quality Deer Management guidelines are formulated according to property-specific objectives, goals and limitations. Participating hunters enjoy both the tangible and intangible benefits of this approach. Pleasure can be derived from each hunting experience regardless if a shot is fired. What is important is the chance to harvest a quality stag - an opportunity lacking on many areas under traditional management. When a quality stag is taken on a Quality Deer Management area, the pride can be shared by all property hunters because it was they who produced it by allowing it to reach the older age classes which are necessary for large bodies and antlers.

Sustainable Use Conservation

Hunters have always played a major role in wildlife conservation. Hunters contribute their time, effort and money directly to wildlife conservation activities. The use of wildlife, which has occurred since the beginning of mankind, can provide strong incentives for conservation. Many countries are now beginning to understand that even rare species can benefit from sustainable use, including controlled hunting programs.

The Convention on Biological Diversity – the largest conservation treaty in the world, with 175 countries – says that it is the right of peoples to use and benefit from their wildlife and plant resources. The treaty requires that uses should be sustainable and that the benefits of use should be equitably shared. Today, sport hunting is widely recognized by scientists and professional conservationists as an important form of sustainable use. Sport hunting provides a major source of funding for wildlife conservation, stimulates local economies in remote rural locations in the United States and around the world, and provides an incentive for conservation for many species. In the United States, sport hunting has been a major factor in the recovery of many species – species that are now so abundant that people forget that at the turn of the 20th century they were headed for extinction. These include the white-tailed deer, elk and wild turkey. Many other species have benefited from conservation programs supported by sportsmen and their dollars, including the bald eagle, beaver, and bluebirds.

Wildlife conservation is a diverse activity that includes political advocacy, fund-raising, wildlife research, wildlife management, habitat conservation, and conservation education.