Aerial shoot sets sights on 20,000 feral animals roaming southern Arnhem Land

ABC Rural
By Carmen Brown

Posted Saturday at 05:30

An aerial shoot targeting buffalo and feral horses will begin in southern Arnhem Land in the coming weeks. (ABC Open)
Traditional owners are ramping up efforts to control thousands of feral animals in southern Arnhem Land, with the region's first aerial shoot to begin within weeks.

Key points:
The Northern Land Council is hoping to cut the number of feral animals in southern Arnhem Land in a bid to reduce their impact on sensitive areas
They hope the population reduction targets can be achieved within the next few years
The plan has caught the attention of the NT's commercial buffalo industry which has struggled to fill export orders
Surveys have confirmed about 20,000 feral buffalo, horses, cattle, donkeys and pigs are roaming the South East Arnhem Land Indigenous Protected Area, causing damage to important environmental and cultural sites.

The Northern Land Council (NLC), which assists traditional owners in managing the land, want to cut the number of feral animals by about half in a bid to reduce their impact on sensitive areas.

An aerial shoot targeting buffalo and horses is expected to begin within the next few weeks, mainly in remote areas of the IPA which can't be accessed by vehicles.

At the same time, the NLC is working with traditional owners to allow contract musters to harvest the region's buffalo for export.

NLC regional program coordinator Mike Carmody said it was hoped the population reduction targets could be achieved within the next few years.

"Particularly around buffalo, we would really want to see those numbers come down from currently around 10,000 to perhaps 2,000," Mr Carmody said.

"That will still give an opportunity for mustering to still keep going and take a large number of animals off each year".

The aerial cull and proposed mustering are part of a three-year management plan to lessen the impact of feral animals on the local environment.

"The wetlands in that zone are particularly vulnerable, particularly to the impact of buffalo, and so there are areas that have been identified as high value in the wetlands," Mr Carmody said.

"And the problem isn't just feral animals, the feral animals then exacerbate things by introducing weeds, and it gives us a combination of issues which cause us grief in those special areas."

Culling questioned by buffalo industry
The plan has caught the attention of the Territory's commercial buffalo industry, which is struggling to fill export orders from Indonesia and Vietnam.

NT Buffalo Industry Council CEO Louise Bilato said with demand for buffalo currently outstripping supply, any plans to shoot the animals were concerning.

"The exporters are talking to as many producers as possible and are keen to get as many as they can," Ms Bilato said.

"Like last year, demand far exceeds supply, so part of the NT Buffalo Industry Council's desire is that we don't do the aerial culling where we can see musterers go, in consultation with traditional owners.

"It becomes a win-win situation then, the Northern Territory economy is benefitted by seeing more buffalo go overseas for live export.

"We have exceptionally good quality animals in our traditional Aboriginal-owned lands, and we need to be able to encourage traditional owners to get some value out of those as well."

More than 10,000 buffalo are thought to be roaming the South East Arnhem Land IPA (ABC Rural: Carmen Brown)
Ms Bilato said while many mustering contractors had good working relationships with local traditional owners, the industry's relationship with the Northern Land Council could be improved.

"The Buffalo Industry Council would like to establish better relationships with the NLC, who are undertaking the consultations on behalf of traditional owners, to be able to demonstrate what we see strategically the industry having capacity to do," she said.

"And to be able to marry that up with their interests for traditional owners who are keen to actually establish the industry."

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