What is of course obvious and described so well by the late Dr Hugh Wirth (Hugh was the first Australian President of WSPA, World Animal Protection, formally the World Society for the Protection of Animals) as we discussed how animals were being treated by different cultures around the world, was that species have a hierarchy in the way we treat and regard them. See our discussion in the Earth section of the Nature Knowledge Channel in the story Kindness and cruelty: Our relationship with animals.

When it comes to animals that have been domesticated and form an integral part of human life, as companion animals do, and sadly and all too often, the vast number of animals that find themselves part of the modern industrial food system, for these animals the hierarchy looks like this. Dogs are the number one animal globally, replacing horses in that top position, cats sit near the top. Cattle, as Hugh described it, cattle are regarded more highly than sheep, and very few care much about chickens. Then there is the terrible suffering of pigs in this system.

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In Australia, Australian animals are systematically being replaced by animals from somewhere else.

So where do Australian species sit in this hierarchy?

Given their relentless persecution by Australian state governments and the endless and distorted nonsense that pops up in the Australian media, the answer to that question is that most sit very low indeed in this hierarchy of regard. Even talking about Kangaroos, or Possums or Flying Foxes or Koalas (it is a long list) with members of the public, will more than likely result in an angry response. The prejudice regarding these animals (even though most have never seen them, outside a zoo that is), is deeply felt.

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Following a complaint by a tourist operator in western-Victoria regarding the shooting of Kangaroos adjoining a tourism business, as one Victorian Policemen put it and in doing so described the attitudes so well:

“The shooter is doing his duty”.

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As we visit and walk around the major cities in Australia, the dogs are now numerous, yesterday, among the large numbers of dogs and their happy owners, a poodle with its boots on. Many of these owners will return home and reward their companion animal with a Kangaroo, Wallaby, Emu or Crocodile ‘treat’ oblivious of the suffering of those animals. Some of these owners even believing they were doing their duty in supporting this trade in Australian wildlife.

These seemingly impenetrable believes are evident when it comes to Flying Foxes, a small colony had established, within a few days it was gone, near to where we are currently living, not particularly harming anything or anyone, but drawing the consternation of at least some of the locals, who also don’t appear to care much care for other Australian species either, preferring the European equivalents.

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The deer conundrum

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“The abundance of deer in Victoria has been the subject of much debate, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand to one million deer (Department of Environment Land Water and Planning 2020). This large figure (one million) appears to be an extrapolation based on the number of deer taken by recreational hunters, which was estimated to be almost 123,000 deer in 2022 (Moloney and Flesch 2023). These recreational harvest estimates are based on telephone surveys of a sample of recreational hunters undertaken several times per year (Moloney et al. 2022). However, analysis of the most recent recreational harvest surveys has indicated that the estimate of total harvest is sensitive to reporting bias, especially from respondents who report very high harvest rates (Moloney and Flesch 2023). Harvest estimates also include hunting that occurs on private land, which often makes up a large proportion (~ 50%) of the recreational take of deer”. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Victorian Government

What is occurring around deer populations in Victoria is very odd. Many years ago a doctor friend of ours expressed his concern about deer species popping up in some of the remote Alpine places in Victoria he knew so well. It was his view at that time that this was not by accident, given the wide and rapid distribution.

Non-native animals also appear in the ATCW annual reports including Deer. When I reported on the ATCWs issued in 2020 and 2021, I made these comments about Deer, which apart from one species, the Hog Deer, are missing in the 2023 report - other species of Deer have been removed from the list. Why, is the question?

Here are my comments from the 2021 ATCW report:

“In Victoria, in what appears to be a consistent pattern, in 2020 the ATCW permits (number of animals targeted) issued for the Eastern Grey Kangaroo (for the Kangaroo, mitigation permits only, excludes commercial) was 102 times more than for the Red Deer, 29 times that of Fallow Deer and 7 times that of Sambar Deer. It is quite remarkable that when it comes to species being targeted by ATCW permits, that native species should take centre stage. Statistics for 2021 repeat that pattern”. Peter Hylands

Then of course the Deer data was removed from the public gaze.

In relation to Deer in Victoria, there are two things that should not be happening. Firstly allowing the Deer population to grow so that yet more killing and cruelty occurs and creates an even bigger animal welfare issue is unacceptable.

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Just one example of the tolerance to extreme cruelty in Victoria is that recreational hunting by crossbow and longbow are allowed. The Victorian Government requirements include these:

"Crossbow: A minimum draw weight of 50 pounds (22.5 kilograms), using an arrow fitted with a broadhead having a combined minimum weight of 400 grains (26 grams) and at least two cutting blades.

Longbow: A minimum draw weight of 150 pounds (68 kilograms), using a bolt fitted with a broadhead having a total minimum weight of 400 grains (26 grams) and at least two blades".

The second point here is that destroying populations of Australian species at such large scale (including Kangaroos), while allowing species that significantly damage the Australian environment the opportunity to expand populations, as has occurred in Victoria at significant scale, is immensely damaging to the environment.

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We can always rely on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) to churn out endless propaganda about Kangaroos (stories which are certainly not verified as they claim), while producing stories that are far more friendly to goats and deer, we even get poems from the presenters. Recently in Victoria the ABC have published a story called On the hunt featuring a young woman hunting Deer.

“Seeking a direct connection with what they eat, these hunters are turning away from packaged meat to stalk wild animals in Victoria’s forests….With a rifle slung over her shoulder, she abandons the safety of a gravel track and walks into thick scrub in Victoria’s High Country”. And on it goes…

Concurrently the ABC were broadcasting  other stories relating to Deer:

“Deer are 'protected wildlife' in Victoria. These hunters want it to stay that way”. ABC

“Deer are not native to Australia and were first introduced for hunting in the mid-19th century….. In Victoria, eight species are defined as "protected wildlife" and cannot be destroyed without authorisation. Six of those species are listed as "game" which means they can only be hunted by registered hunters under strict conditions. It's a similar situation in Tasmania. But in other parts of the country, they are classified as a "pest" to be eradicated”. ABC

The problem with all this is that in Victoria, its government is very busy promoting recreational hunting at large scale and in large parts of Victoria, a number of changes are occurring that make public lands in Victoria even more dangerous to visit and living in regional Victoria potentially problematic if residents are caught up in the front line of the killing and find themselves totally devoid of rights and assistance to deal with their trauma. The concerning convergence of Victorian Government action, lets call it activism include:

• Updating of ‘game hunting’ regulations which appear to favour shooters even further:

“After just 28 days, public comment is now closed re draft Victorian Hunting Regulations, set to govern hunting in vast swathes of public areas across Victoria for the next decade. The government has given itself less than a month to consider dozens of lengthy submissions, finalise the Regulations, and publish them by September 7”. Regional Victorian OTDs

In contrast:

• The updating of the Wildlife Act 1975 remains stalled:

“While the  (hunting) regulations are being rushed through so hunters can have their fun unhindered by administrative delays, the updating of the Wildlife Act 1975 has - by contrast – been stagnating since December 2021. You may recall recommendations for its revamp handed to Ministers in December 2021! The cabinet has apparently not yet considered it. Lucky our wildlife and ecosystems are so healthy in Victoria hey? In the half-century since this Act was created, climate change and habitat destruction has wreaked havoc on our wildlife”. Regional Victorian OTDs

• A government engineered capture of public lands for shooters, which includes the ability to commercially exploit Australian protected species (Kangaroos) from the beginning of 2025.
• Proposed changes to recreational duck and quail shooting within the review of Victoria’s game hunting regulations which seek to exclude members of the public from wetlands in Victoria at certain periods and seek to lock in season opening and closing dates, bag limits etc, regardless of climatic conditions and bird populations.
• Significant increase in funding for the Victorian Government’s Game Management Authority (GMA) which signals a move from enabling and entitling behaviour to enforcement. Given the level of threat to the public which occurred on Victoria’s Ramsar sites and other wetlands in 2024 we can only hope this type of confrontation, including assault, does not occur in the state’s National and other parks. Whatever the outcome, the situation is become more dangerous.

In contrast:

• Complete defunding of Victoria’s main wildlife rescue organisation, Wildlife Victoria.
• What appears to be a significant increase in the use of ATCWs targeting the 100 or so protected Australian species that the Victorian Government likes to kill in sometimes very large numbers.

While all other states in Australia are bad when it comes to their responsibilities and duty of care in relation to Australia’s protected species, Victorian standards have declined so badly they now pose a danger to residents and visitors to public lands in regional Victoria. Be careful out there.

The ABC’s recent ‘promo’ of hunting in Victoria comes at a strategically interesting time, a clever soft sell, if there ever was one.

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