Regulation of Commercial Harvesting
From EnvironmentWiki
--Nichole Hoskin 21:14, 27 June 2008 (EST)
Contents |
Federal Laws
Under Australian law, the Constitutional distribution of powers between the State Governments and the Federal Government creates complications for the regulation of the commercial harvesting of kangaroos.[1] According to the DEWHA, these complications arise because States have the power to legislate for management programmes, monitoring of populations and conservation, while the Federal Government has the power to legislate to enact its international legal obligations and to regulate exports of native species.[2]
In response to the legal challenges arising from the Australian Constitution, the Federal Government has promoted consistency in States approaches while acknowledging the need for flexibility to address problems that can occur at the regional or local level.[3] In particular, the Federal Government promotes the implementation of strategies to enhance controls on quotas and permits, ensuring the monitoring and licensing of shooters involved in both commercial and non-commercial shooting and the enforcement of regulations.[4] Other strategies promoted by the Federal Government include controls on species harvested, along with controls on where and when harvests occur.[5] While there are differences between State strategies, in New South Wales, the National Parks and Wildlife Service employs all the strategies recommended by the Federal Government, other than the use of an open season or harvest period.[6]
Despite the differences between State laws in relation to the commercial harvest of kangaroos, the Federal Government is able regulate for the protection of threatened species through its Constitutional powers to regulate to implement international agreements and inter-state and international trade.
The Federal Government has enacted to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), which requires States to gain the approval of the Federal Minister for management programmes for the commercial harvest of kangaroos.[7] If the conservation of a species is inconsistent with the State management programme, the Federal Minister is able to refuse or rescind approval for the management programme.[8] To enable the Federal Minister to determine whether the conservation of a species is consistent with a State management programme, States are required to provide the Minister with quarterly reports.[9]
In addition to the Ministers powers to approve or rescind management programmes, the Federal Government has enacted the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 with the purpose of permitting the commercial harvesting of wildlife “if it has been conclusively established that such a trade will not adversely affect Australian wildlife.”[10] This Act requires the Federal Minister to approve the export of kangaroo products when these products come from an approved management programme, with specific criteria for the Minister to apply in approving a management programme.[11] State Governments and their conservation agencies have the responsibility to develop and implement management programmes, with provisions for the reduction of harvests within a reasonable time and the ability to be responsive to changes in circumstances.[12]
Along with the Federal Ministers powers to approve Kangaroo Management Programmes (KMPs), the Federal Government also uses the aims of KMPs to balance competing interests in relation to kangaroos. According to RSPCA Australia’s 2002 report on compliance with the Code of Practice, for Environment Australia, the aims of all State Kangaroo Management Programmes (KMPs) are to maintain viable populations of kangaroos, minimise unwanted impacts on kangaroos, and manage kangaroos as a renewable resource, without compromising the conservation of the species.[13] These aims ensure that KMPs are designed in a manner that considers and takes into account the competing interests of maintaining kangaroo populations on the Australian landscape while also enabling the commercial use of kangaroos for meat and hides.
In addition to regulation of commercial harvests and exports of kangaroos, Australian Governments also utilise the declaration of national parks, fauna reserves, scientific reserves and forestry reserves to protect all kangaroo species present in the reserve area. While the declaration of reserves is important to protecting Australian wildlife, such declarations are only able to protect kangaroos when there is suitable habitat for kangaroos available in reserves. According to Environment Australia, when reserves greater than 10,000 hectares are considered, there is a total of 45,510,945 hectares of reserves throughout Australia that are suitable as habitat for kangaroo populations of major commercial species.[14] Environment Australia argues that it is important to assess continually the availability of suitable habitat for kangaroos, as part of management programmes, particularly when there are changes in land uses and increases in the area reserved for the protection of wildlife.[15]
CITES and Australian Law:
Australia is a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and has complied with it’s obligations to enact domestic legislation to regulate trade in endangered species, initially with Customs (Endangered Species) Regulations and later with the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982, which was replaced by Part 13A of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).[16] Under Australian law, it is possible for the Minister to make a declaration under the EPBC Act to apply stricter domestic measures to species listed in CITES categories.[17]
Exports or imports of CITES specimens is only permitted for eligible non-commercial purposes, such as research, education, exhibition, or as a household pet or personal item.[18] However, CITES provides for exemptions to the permitting requirements for CITES species.[19] If it is possible to demonstrate that a specimen was acquired before CITES applied to that species, CITES permits are not required for the specimen.[20] The EPBC Act provides for recognition of appropriately issued pre-CITES certificates to enable the importation of the specimen into Australia.[21]
In addition to exemptions for specimens acquired before CITES listing, the EPBC Act also provides for Lists of Exempted Native Specimens, which are lists of native species that are exempt from export regulations.[22] The kangaroo and wallaby species that appear on the List of Exempted Native Specimens include the Western grey kangaroo, the Eastern grey kangaroo, the Red kangaroo, the Whiptail wallaby, Euro, Bennett’s wallaby and the Rufous wallaby.[23]
State Laws:
Queensland was the first Australian State to regulate the commercial harvesting of kangaroos with the introduction of the Fauna Conservation Act in 1954.[24] This legislation required shooters and dealers to have licenses, pay royalties for Red kangaroos, Eastern grey kangaroos, wallaroos and whiptail wallabies, and report the numbers killed.[25] Prior to 1970, there were no restrictions on the number and distribution of dealer sites.[26] The introduction of quotas occurred in 1975, with the introduction of the requirement that shooters attach a numbered, self-locking and non-reusable tag to each carcass entering the industry.[27] This requirement also exists in the laws of all four States engaging in the commercial harvest of kangaroos in Australia.[28] For Pople and Grigg, the motivation for the introduction of Queensland’s legislation was the “need to conserve a resource of considerable economic importance to rural Australia” rather than as a response to public support for conservation.[29]
The New South Wales Government introduced royalties on carcasses sold commercial in 1967, although the introduction of serially numbered Royalty tags in 1971 improved the ability of New South Wales authorities to monitor the trade.[30] Monitoring improved with the introduction of tags since tags enabled the identification of the shooter and the property where the shooting occurred.[31] The introduction of Royalty tags occurred along with the introduction of the requirement that commercial shooters attach a tag to each kangaroo killed for commercial purposes and keep records of their shooting.[32]
The Western Australia Government introduced controls on the commercial harvesting of kangaroos in 1971, which restricted the commercial harvesting to licensed commercial shooters, operating with quota limits and controlled through a tagging system.[33]
The South Australia Government also introduced a system of licensing shooters through use of kangaroo destruction permits issued by species and property in 1971.[34]
Regulation of Shooters: License Conditions
State Governments use a regulatory framework of licensing shooters and property owners to regulate the commercial harvesting of kangaroos. While all States use licenses to regulate the shooting of kangaroos, there are differences in the names of the licenses and types of licenses required.
In New South Wales, commercial harvesting of kangaroos can only take place when the shooter holds a Trapper’s License, is harvesting in a commercial zone and the property where harvesting takes place is covered by an Occupier’s License.[35] In Queensland, the commercial harvesting of kangaroos can only take place when the shooter holds a Commercial Wildlife Harvesting License.[36] In Western Australia, a Professional Shooter’s License is required.[37] In South Australia, the shooter must hold a Field Processor License and the harvesting occurs on a property Destruction Permit (commercial).[38] These commercial harvesting licenses include conditions on the use of firearms, use of tags, keeping records, and the use of the Code.[39] New South Wales, Western Australia and South Australia require the completion of an appropriate game meat course before issuing a commercial license.[40] New South Wales and Queensland also require commercial shooters to undertake a shooting accuracy test, although these tests usually occur at shooting ranges, rather than replicating the circumstances of commercial harvesting by shooting from vehicles at night.[41]
In order to complete the required game meat harvesting courses, all commercial shooters in New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland, must complete a component on the humane killing of kangaroos.[42] In New South Wales, the objectives of the component on the humane killing of kangaroos includes demonstrating an understanding and knowledge of accurate sighting, achieving sudden and painless death of the game animal, permitted conditions for kangaroo shooting and procedures for dealing with wounded kangaroos, pouch young and illegal shooters.[43]
RSPCA Australia’s 2002 report on compliance with the Code of Practice endorses the requirement for the completion of a training course as a pre-condition on the granting of a commercial harvesting licence by recommending that all States adopt this policy. [44] In addition to this recommendation, RSPCA Australia also recommended improvements for firearm accreditation, with “a field-based shooting accuracy test such as that undertaken in South Australia should be adopted in all States as part of their firearm accreditation (ie with testing carried out at night from a vehicle).”[45] The basis of this recommendation is the acknowledgement by New South Wales and Queensland officials that firearm test conditions were different from the normal conditions of shooting kangaroos, since tests usually occurred during the day at a firing range. [46] The basis of this recommendation is the acknowledgment by New South Wales and Queensland officials that firearm test conditions were different from the normal conditions of shooting kangaroos, since tests usually occurred during the day at a firing range.[47]
The requirement of completion of a game meat harvesting course and firearm accreditation in New South Wales has meant that all kangaroo shooters must meet these requirements to gain a license to shoot kangaroos. According to RSPCA Australia, by the end of 2000, “about 1000 prospective commercial shooters had undertaken the courses in New South Wales, with about 600-700 completing it successfully.”[48] It is also relevant to note that the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts describes kangaroo shooters as having a prodigious reputation for their expert shooter skills,[49] which is supported by the approximately 60-70% successful completion rate of game meat harvesting courses and firearm accreditation in New South Wales in 2000.
Inspections of Kangaroos for human consumption
All States have laws requiring inspections by a designated authority to ensure that all kangaroos used for human consumption comply with the Australian Standards for the Hygienic Production of Game Meat for Human Consumption.[50] If the kangaroo meat is for export purposes, it is also necessary for the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service (AQIS) to conduct inspections.[51]
References
1. Environment Australia, Chapter 10, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Chapter 10, p 1.
2. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Chapter 10, p 1.
3. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, p 1.
4. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, pp 1-2.
5. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, pp 1-2.
6. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Chapter 10, pp 1-2.
7. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, p 2.
8. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, p 2.
9. Environment Australia, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 10, p 2. See also: Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, , Background Information: Commercial Kangaroo and Wallaby Harvest Quotas, p 1.
10. Environment Australia, Chapter 10, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts Chapter 10, p 2.
11. Environment Australia, ‘Appendix 1: Legislation’, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Appendix 1, p 1.
12. Environment Australia, ‘Appendix 1: Legislation’, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Appendix 1, p 2.
13. Environment Australia, ‘Appendix 1: Legislation’, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Appendix 1, p 4.
14. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 10.
15. Environment Australia, Chapter 12, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 12, p 1.
16. Environment Australia, Chapter 12, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 12, p 1.
17. Environment Australia, Chapter 12, in Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 12, p 1.
18. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 1.
19. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 3.
20. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 3.
21. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 3.
22. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 3.
23. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 1.
24. Department of Environment and Heritage, Lists of Exempt Native Species, p 1.
25. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 3.
26. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 3.
27. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
28. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
29. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
30. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, pp 3-4.
31. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
32. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
33. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
34. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
35. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
36. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
37. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
38. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
39. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
40. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
41. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
42. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, pp 12,15.
43. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 11.
44. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 15.
45. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
46. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
47. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
48. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
49. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 15.
50. Tony Pople and Gordon Grigg, Commercial Harvesting of Kangaroos in Australia, Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Chapter 5, p 4.
51. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
52. RSPCA Australia, Kangaroo Shooting Code Compliance: A survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos, ‘Examination of the Regulatory Framework’, p 16.
