Addressing the Australian Feral Animal Situation
- by: Mike Sexton, Puppy Passions Rescue & Transport
- recipient: David Hawk John Howard, Speaker of the House Rep.; Prime Minister, Australian Government
We need the Australian Government to see that there are better ways of handling the feral animal population in their country, than using things like poison, metal traps and worse, that are quite indescriminate and also take a large number of already endangered Australian wildlife.
We the undersigned endorse the following petition:
To encourage and support humane measures to control the feral population in Australia and to urge the Australian Department of Environment and Heritage to uphold its own definition of “Humane”* and “Humane Killing”* which is stated on their website at: http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/humane-control/index.html
Targets:
1. Speaker of the House Representatives: The Honorable David Hawker MP (Party: Liberal Party of Australia) (Title: Speaker)
Contact info:
P.O. Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tele: (02) 6277-4000
Fax: (02) 6277-2050
E-mail:
mailto:David.Hawker.MP@aph.gov.au
David.Hawker.MP@aph.gov.au
2. Prime Minister: The Honorable John Howard MP
(Party: Liberal Party of Australia) (Title: Prime Minister)
Contact info:
P.O. Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Tele: (02) 6277-7700
Fax: (02) 6273-41000
E-mail: not given out.
Australian Web site links:
http://www.pm.gov.au/links.html
www.pm.gov.au/links.html
(Parliament of Australia Senate)
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/senmin.htm
www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/senmin.htm
Cabinet:
3. Senator the Honorable Nick Minchin: Minister for Finance and Administration (Leader of the Government in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council)
4. Senator the Honorable Helen Coonan: Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts
5. Senator the Honorable Ian Campbell: Minister for the Environment and Heritage
Outer Ministry:
6. Senator the Honorable Eric Abetz: Minister for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation
Parliamentary Secretaries:
7. Senator the Honorable Richard Colbeck: Parliament Secretary to the Minister for Finance and Administration
http://www.aph.gov.au/library/parl/41/ministry/ministry.htm
www.aph.gov.au/library/parl/41/ministry/ministry.htm
(Current Parliamentary Cabinet)
8. The Honorable Peter Costello, MP (Treasurer)
9. The Honorable Philip Ruddock, MP (Attorney-General)
10. The Honorable Mal Brough, MP (Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs; Minister for Indigenous Affairs)
11. The Honorable Ian Macfarlane, MP (Minister of Industry, Tourism and Resources)
12. The Honorable Peter McGauran, MP (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Deputy Leader of the House)
13. The Honorable Jim Lloyd, MP (Minister for Local Government, Territories and Roads)
14. The Honorable Gary Nairn, Mp (Special Minister of State)
15. The Honorable John Cobb, MP (Minister for Community Services)
(Parliamentary Secretaries)
16. The Honorable Malcolm Turnbull, MP (P.S. to the Prime Minister)
17. The Honorable Chris Pearce, Mp (P.S. to the Treasurer)
18. The Honorable Greg Hunt, MP (P.S. to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage) (Party: Liberal Party of Australia)
E-mail:
Greg.Hunt.MP@aph.gov.au
Ideally we would prefer that no animal would need to be euthanised, however, the extent of the feral problem in Australia must be acknowledged and the populace educated to alternative means of feral control. Scientist are working to develop immunocontraceptives (birth-control injections) for animals which have the potential to prevent needless killing as well as being cost effective and environmentally safer compared to other current methods used by the Australian government. Around the world, people must be willing to support research in this area since currently, poisons such as Ratbane and Pindone; purposeful inoculations of a lethal rabbit virus; explosives; and toxic fumes are used in conjunction with legalized hunting and trapping to manage Australia’s feral problems. By encouraging and supporting Trap-Neuter-Release (NTR) programs and scientific research of birth control alternatives the feral problem can be controlled without further administering toxins into the environment.
Legislative action can be effective. Providing tax benefits to those veterinarians who perform, for the Department of Environment and Heritage, spaying/neutering services freely, or who only charge for the cost of the actually medical supplies necessary for the procedure can make a significant dent in the feral population.
How much of a dent? If there are 5,000 veterinarians in the whole of Australia, and each neutered one feral animal per month freely or for a reduced cost then the number of feral animals humanely handled would amount to 60,000 per year.
A detailed report on Australia’s feral issues can be read at www.puppypassions.com/id39.html . Please educate yourself on this Australian epidemic. Research not only will help Australia’s wildlife and habitat to bounce back but also has the potential to impact the entire world’s domestic and wild animals in a positive and humane way.
*According to Australia’s Department of Environment and Heritage, “Standard Operating Procedure” (SOP) the definition of Humane is “causing the minimum pain, suffering and distress possible.” Their definition of Humane Killing is “a killing where welfare of the animal is not poor just prior to initiation of the killing procedure and the procedure itself results in insensibility to pain and distress within a few seconds. When carried out properly, the welfare is either not poor at any time or is poor for those few seconds only.”
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