A bill proposing the establishment of a Conservation Hunting Authority to deal with feral animal populations in NSW has sparked heated debate. Photos: Rod Hart.
A parliamentary bill in NSW that could fundamentally change the state’s relationship with hunting has triggered heated debate between supporters and opponents.
The Game and Feral Animal Legislation Amendment (Conservation Hunting) Bill 2025 proposes to establish a Conservation Hunting Authority, recognise a right to hunt, and loosen restrictions on hunting on Crown land and in state forests.
Its main aim is for the state to work with private hunters when it comes to combating feral animals.
The bill has triggered heated clashes between opponents and proponents, in parliament and on social media, about the merits of conservation hunting.
What is conservation hunting?
Conservation hunting is using recreational hunters to assist in wildlife management.
It takes several forms, including bounties to encourage private hunters to remove invasive species.
It’s not part of the bill, but one big contention between those for and against it is the possibility of introducing a bounty system for invasive species, recently floated by Premier Chris Minns in a radio interview.
To hunt …
The bill has been put forward by NSW Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader, MLC Robert Borsak. He is backed by several hunting groups.
Mr Borsak said conservation hunting was an obvious solution to help control animal numbers.
“What the bill attempts to do is to [utilise] the hunting efforts of a quarter of a million firearm-licensed hunters in New South Wales,” he said.
“Conservation hunting is the recognition of the contribution made by volunteer conservation hunters helping to control invasive species in New South Wales … we want that whole process to be incorporated in the government’s consideration of management programs.”
Mr Borsak said people were being misled by anti-hunting lobbies.
“Their opposition has nothing to do with the control of these species. It’s all about politics, as far as they’re concerned.”
Mr Borsak is confident his bill will be passed and said he had the support of the government and the Opposition.
Premier Minns has indicated a possibility of working with hunters for conservation by potentially introducing bounties on certain feral animals.
Bounties have been used extensively in Australia and around the world and have had some success in containing invasive species such as the Burmese python in Florida.
Or not to hunt?
The bill is opposed by the Invasive Species Council, which has accused the Premier of sacrificing conservation for votes. The group has been backed by the Biodiversity Council.
The ISC is strongly opposed to conservation hunting and the use of bounty systems. It has long lobbied against any expansion of hunting in NSW and has described the bill as creating a taxpayer-funded propaganda arm for hunting lobbyists.
Advocacy director Jack Gough said using private hunters for conservation created a perverse incentive to retain populations of invasive species for game purposes.
“The interests of the shooting lobby are about keeping feral animals in the landscape for their sport, and it has nothing to do with actually reducing the numbers of feral deer, feral pigs, and foxes,” Mr Gough said.
He accused hunting groups of undermining conservation efforts in NSW and other states. In his opinion, private hunters should have no role in conservation.
“What you need is a long-term, well-funded strategic control program undertaken by professionals at scale,” he said.
”At the moment, we have a completely ad hoc system that essentially is Vegemite spread across the landscape.”
On the possibility of bounties, Mr Gough did not pull his punches.
“Bounty hunters might be heroes on the big screen, but in the real world of feral animal control, they’re just a waste of taxpayers’ money,” he said.
Several bounty programs have backfired in the past, with some even being blamed for ultimately increasing feral animal populations, such as during a pig bounty program in the US state of Georgia in 2008.
What happens now?
Conservation hunting is a controversial topic in Australia and around the world. There is no consensus on the practice, so it’s sure to trigger more heated debate over coming months.
The bill, for which an inquiry period recently ended, will now be referred to the Standing Committee on State Development. It can be read here.
