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Victorian Animal Welfare Act directions paper – what the ADA are doing, and why

Animal welfare is a critical consideration for hunters and a key driver of our training and preparation for the hunt, and of the restraint that we show in the field.

A core element of a successful hunt is affording our quarry a swift and humane death. As hunters we feel the weight of responsibility for animal welfare more fully than most in our society due to the intimacy and the gravity of our interactions with animals.

Proposed new animal welfare legislation in Victoria has caused a degree of angst amongst hunters owning to the existential threat posed by some of the proposals in a directions paper.

Nothing happens in a vacuum, this issue is complex and multi layered and the nuances of it, and of the broader political environment that we operate in are all important to understand.

Consequently, we apologise for this being a longer than usual article.

The ADA represents the interests of deer management and of deer hunting in Australia. Deer hunting is opposed by three distinct, well-resourced movements:

  • The animal rights movement which seeks to remove our ability to kill wildlife
  • The green movement which seeks to remove our ability to access public land

And

  • The gun control movement which seeks to remove our access to what are the fundamental tools for most hunters.

Each of these movements enjoy broad social licence, each is well organised, each is well funded and each put full time resources into their cause.

The larger animal rights organisation, Animals Australia, brings in $20m a year for their campaigns.

The largest green group, the ACF, brings in $15m.

The largest Gun Control group, the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, also brings in $15m – and has the Prime Minister of Australia as its patron.

Effectively countering these threats and keeping deer hunting, not only alive, but growing, requires serious, ongoing work and campaigning, day in, day out, by people who are both skilled for and dedicated to the task.

That is why eight years ago, the ADA, with our limited resources, employed full time staff and engaged the ongoing services of professional policy consultants.

It’s why we have formed alliances with kindred groups to tackle challenges collectively and cohesively.

It’s why we have invested in an industry leading communications platform.

It’s why (in partnership with FGA) we invested in the development of Conservation & Hunting, which is Australia’s only hunting and management specific publication targeted directly at decision makers.

The results we get speak for themselves – in recent years we have:

  • Turned around a Greens led Senate inquiry into pro-firearm results (with FGA, SIFA and SSAA)
  • Forced the RSPCA through an internal review to formally abandon activism (with FGA)
  • Gained 360,000 ha of extra public land for hound hunting (with SSAA Vic and VHH)
  • Gained access to Snake Island for balloted hog deer hunting (with support from SFFP)
  • Secured a new Victorian Firearm Consultative Committee, a 30% increase in staff for the GMA, a new Sustainable Hunting Action Plan, $2m a year in shooting sports grants and the finalisation of an Adaptive Harvest Model for Duck Hunting in Victoria (with SSAA Vic)
  • Secured modernised arrangements for deer hunting in Tasmania (with TDAC and SSAA Tas)
  • Launched a major campaign for public land access in Queensland (in support of SFHFQ)
  • Launched Australia’s first nationwide Deer Management Initiative to guide the efforts of public, private and non-government land managers.
  • Spoken face to face with hundreds of decision makers across the country about deer hunting and deer management
  • Made detailed submissions to, and presented on behalf of hunters at, scores of Parliamentary inquiries into land management, animal welfare, wildlife management and firearm administration
  • Successfully countered challenges from the green movement to the game status of deer in Victoria and to the protection of hog deer on private land (with SSAA Vic)
  • Presented from a hunter’s perspective at academic conferences throughout Australia
  • Gained 30,000ha of new access in the Alpine National Park
  • Successfully lobbied for commercial game meat processing for personal use for hunters

In spite of the, literally, tens of millions of dollars being thrown against us, ADA and our allies have managed to build a solid platform and not just hold the line, but actually gain ground in a number of areas.

In late October, Agriculture Victoria released a directions paper for a new Animal Welfare Act for Victoria to replace the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. This is the first formal consultation step in what will be a long process of development. ADA have already been involved in informal consultation on this with relevant bureaucrats and MP’s and we made a detailed submission to the recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Animal Rights Activism, in the knowledge that the results of that inquiry would inform this process.

The directions paper floats a number of ideas and options which present an existential challenge to hunting in Australia, it is critical that we address those challenges strategically, comprehensively and in a manner, which appropriately maintains flexibility and access for hunters whilst underlining the integral respect for our quarry and commitment to animal welfare that we all share.

When we were sent this paper on 20 October we immediately recognised the seriousness of the situation and forwarded it to our policy consultant to commence the task of formulating a strategy and commencing the research effort for a comprehensive and compelling submission. We also discussed the issues with our colleagues with a view to sharing information and ensuring that we are not duplicating efforts and that we are putting forward the best possible case on behalf of hunters (cognisant of the fact that the people who are trying to 'do us in' have $20m at their disposal). There are ongoing discussions this week which will determine precisely how we will all approach this and what resources will be brought to bear.

Issues of particular concern include the broad ranging implications of a potential legal recognition of animal sentience and consideration on how specific wording, which currently allows hunters to “harm” (i.e. kill) wildlife, will look in the new legislation.

At this early stage we are also looking for clarity about hunting with gundogs and hounds and to ensure that bowhunters are not caught up in this. The directions paper gives broad brush strokes, the eventual Act and subsequent regulations will be quite detailed - the devil is always in the detail. 

It is important to note that hunters are currently subject, quite rightly, to all of the other anti-cruelty provisions of current legislation.

Passion will only get us so far on matters like this, it is critical that what we present is professional, undisputable and informed by the best minds in Australian politics and policy. It is also critical that hunting’s advocates have the ability to talk with politicians and public servants not only in language that they understand, but, as importantly, in terms which are compelling to them – you simply cannot regularly and reliably do that without being able to draw on advisors with decades of direct, high level political experience. You also cannot do that effectively without having established relationships, based on trust, with politicians across the political spectrum and throughout the public service. No group is better positioned in this regard than the ADA.

Every hunter who is a financial member of the ADA (or one of our colleague groups) or who supports our raffles and fighting fund has already contributed to hunting’s response to this issue – we will have advice out in plenty of time to guide individual submissions too.

We acknowledge that others are also active on this issue and we respect that and their efforts. We have never claimed that our approach is the only one.

We will keep you posted on this, as we do with all issues, as and when we can.

You can read the full directions paper here

You can read a summary of the proposals here

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