Bounties back on the table

It comes after Victoria’s fox bounties wiped out more than 80,000 of the species in 2022 after hunters were rewarded between $10 to $14 per scalp.

“It’s about time we start thinking about novel ways of reducing the feral goat, the feral pig, the feral cat population, which has really taken over a lot of parks,” Mr Minns said.

“We should be open to bounties and other things, because we’ve got a lot of recreational shooters out there that are actually getting rid of a lot of the pests roaming across our native vegetation. We can be doing far better on it.”

The premier highlighted the success of brumby culls in the Kosciuszko National Park, bringing the population down up to 80 per cent.

NSW Farmers president Xavier Martin said all options need to be on the table to tackle the state’s feral animal problem, welcoming the premier’s comments.

“The problem of feral animals — such as pigs — is an escalating concern for farmers, and we would welcome a shared responsibility, including additional funding, to control these nasty pests,” Mr Martin said.

“Feral pigs, for example, cause millions in damage each year. They attack people and animals, they tear up paddocks, destroy fences, they really are incredibly nasty animals.

“It’s not just pigs — wild dogs and cats are a perennial problem that need to be controlled, and feral deer are an increasing problem.”

NSW has the highest number of feral mammal species in the nation, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, costing farmers millions each year in damage and production losses.

Invasive species are also the highest impact contributors of native animal extinctions, directly endangering 70 per cent of threatened wildlife and ecosystems in the state.

Cats alone have played a major role in 25 mammal extinctions, including the lesser bilby, the Invasive Species Council says.

Mr Martin said more funding to deliver coordinated, long-term, cross-tenure pest control programs across the state were critical, and all options needed to be on the table, including bounties, baits, trapping and aerial culls.

NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader Robert Borsak in January pressed for a $2 million bounty scheme, even backing novel approaches like Florida’s famed Python Challenge.

The annual 10-day competition — which even spawned a TV comedy, Killing It — draws hundreds of people to the Florida Everglades to exterminate invasive Burmese pythons.

Mr Borsak’s proposal involves a bounty of $10 or $20 per head being set on feral animals.

However, the CSIRO’s most recent best practice advice on pest management says bounties rarely work; animal welfare groups oppose the practice; and the Invasive Species Council compares it to “jailing the occasional dealer” in a drug epidemic.

– with AAP.