ATTEMPTS to control wild pigs, rabbits and water buffalo in Australia are depriving Aborigine hunters of an important source of food and driving them to kill rare native animals instead, says an Australian government report released this week. The report from the Bureau of Resource Sciences says that the switch to native prey is one of the unforeseen consequences of programmes that were designed to protect native animals.
The report broaches some sensitive questions about whether there should be controls on Aborigines hunting native species and whether their hunting practices are sustainable.
Feral animals are regarded as one of the country's greatest environmental problems. They are blamed for damaging agricultural land, wrecking the habitat of native species and, in some cases, eating native animals. Feral cats and foxes are shot and poisoned. Water buffalo and wild pigs are shot from helicopters. And lethal viruses have been unleashed more than ...
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