SHOOTING OFF OUR MOUTHS
A fortnight ago the back page of the City Hub generated public outrage. The full-page ad featured a shotgun-wielding hunter under the headline: “Shoot Pigs This Year.” One indignant reader believed the model bore “a sadistic smile and look of pleasure at the anticipation of the operation.” And another expressed “disgust regarding the recent publication of an ad encouraging shooters to hunt pigs under the guise of conservation.”
That same week across the Pacific, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was similarly condemned on CNBC for having “launched air strikes – air strikes– against camels in the outback”. CNBC’s financial guru Jim Cramer attacked our government’s plan to cull camels, declaring “that’s genocide. Camelcide.”
It would be a laughing matter of course, if feral animals didn’t plague Australia’s precious ecosystem. More than 23 million feral pigs alone roam our island continent: that’s one pig for every man, woman and child in Australia. Left unabated their population would explode: an average sow produces between five and 10 piglets in a single litter and can have two litters within 12-15 months. Full-grown feral pigs can weigh more than 50 kilos each and destroy native habitats and wildlife. They spread disease and cause more than $100 million damage to Australian agriculture.
Feral pigs prey upon native bird eggs, small mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. Introduced at the time of European settlement, they lack predators in their new environment and can only be culled with traps and poisons, which run the risk of killing native wildlife – or through shooting. As gruesome as it may be, the most effective way to control feral animal infestations – be they camels or pigs — is by the use of guns. Government programs, such as Canberra’s camel cull, are the most effective way to rid the nation of feral animals. The federal government’s upcoming aerial cull in the Northern Territory costing $19 million will limit the feral camel population in vast tracks of the outback which are otherwise inaccessible by road or foot, despite the denunciations of the American media and some well meaning City Hub readers.
Despite the controversy they generate, hunters in NSW only play a small role in controlling feral infestations. The Game Council’s print ad campaign encouraging inner city residents to take up arms against feral pigs will do little to control this snout scouring menace. According to The Herald on August 17, “the Game Council issued 9000 hunting licences across the state between 2006 and 2007 and only 6000 feral animals were shot (0.5 pest animals per hunter per year). At the same time, one three-day cull by the Department of Environment and Climate Change resulted in 3000 feral pigs being culled, illustrating how much more effective departmental teams were than the Game Council in ridding the state of feral animals.”
The Game Council is headed by members of the Shooters Party, who along with the Greens hold the balance of power in NSW. In true Shooter Party fashion, they are holding a gun to the government’s head, declaring they will block all legislation in the upper house unless and until the Labor government supports their bloodthirsty campaign to allow the hunting of wildlife in National Parks. They effectively closed down Parliament several months ago. Not content to merely shoot pigs, deer, camels and other introduced inveterate species, they are demanding that the list of game animals be expanded to include native animals such as kangaroos, galahs, sulphur-crested cockatoos, two species of ibis, and the black swan. A government department has warned that public safety in national parks would be severely jeopardised if such a policy were implemented.
The introduction of firearms into the civilian population will do little to control feral animal numbers and poses a serious risk to public safety in a nation freed of guns following the Port Arthur massacre. So why would the City Hub accept ads from the Game Council and the Shooters Party, given our views on their political agenda? Here at the Alternative Media Group of Australia we believe the right to free speech is absolute. We take our responsibility to fearlessly print all sides of an issue seriously and refuse to censor ads that are within the bounds of legal discourse in a civil society. We will “defend to the death” (albeit without firearms) the democratic right of anyone to express a point of view, no matter how disagreeable we may find it. We welcome open discussion and vigorous debate. When the first issue of the City Hub first hit the street 14 years ago this week, we declared it was our duty “to print the news and raise hell.” We stand by our founding mission statement (printed in full below),and look forward to maintaining a robust debate with our readers and advertisers.
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Why We Are Publishing the City Hub
1) To print the news and raise hell. To offer an independent alternative to Australia’s media conglomerates. To be unique, vital and indispensable.
2) To fight for progressive social change. To see that everyone gets a fair go. To look out for the underdog (who better than an alternative title to fight the good fight?).
3) To champion local Australian arts and culture. To counter the cultural cringe. To define what is next. To seek what is new.
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5) To give every employee the opportunity to grow and advance. To respect our staff. To have fun.
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10) To seek expansion opportunities within our defined market niche. To grow and grow again. To guarantee that our community hears an opinionated, independent voice.
