TENSIONS are rising between Cape York cattle producers and National Parks, with station owners given until the end of this week to remove branded livestock from parks before they are seized by the Department.
The Cape is marginal cattle country and has seen a major change of land use in recent decades, with several cattle stations purchased by Governments to be converted into National Parks.
The Federal Government is hoping to continue the trend, commiting to a target of having 30 percent of the country’s land set aside for conservation by 2030.
Beef Central has previously reported on landholder calls for better resourcing of National Parks and concerns around pest control and fire management.
One of the main issues in the Cape relates to the management of cattle across boundary fences after the department announced earlier this year that it had plans to cull cattle inside National Parks.
It has become an election issue in the State seat of Cook, with Katters’ Australia Party and Liberal National Party candidates calling for changes.
Call for Parks to work collaborate with landholders
LNP candidate David Kempton told Beef Central that National Parks’ needed to be more collaborative with landholders. He said one of the biggest concerns is about the time limits the department was putting on landholders.
“When the National Parks buy the properties, they are almost always destocked. But the problem we face is that they are also unfenced and, depending on the season, a large number of any station owners cattle can end up in the National Park,” he said.
“They have to organise helicopters, they have to organise trucks, there’s fires and you can’t just muster in one area without the doing the whole property. All of us have to work together, but National Parks have just gone the war with the neighbours – no one else can shoot cattle.”
Mr Kempton said the concerns about were misguided considering the management of other issues.
“They are not doing much about the pigs and weeds on these properties,” he said.
“If they are so worried about the cattle, then they should be managing the place to a much higher degree than what they do. We have one of the lowest expenditures/ha on National Parks in Australia.”
Producer group formed
KAP candidate Duane Amos has also been busy trying to raise the issue by helping form a group called Cattle Growers Cape York.
Mr Amos took to Facebook to announce the formation of the group and denounce the cull of livestock. He said it often takes 80 days to get a permit to muster cattle in parks.
“Do you not forget these cattle have owners, the Cattle stations employs locals, the meat feeds the cities and to rub salt into the wound of owners you don’t provide compensation for the animals destroyed that you don’t own.
“Imagine the same process to recover your dog from a neighbour or property in a city? Or having it destroyed because you’re not allowed to recover your best mate, feed it and then after death let it rot where it falls?
“Where are the animal activists now or doesn’t your electric vehicle get to rural areas for a protest?”
Management program targeting unbranded cattle
In a recent press release announcing that it had issued mustering permits, which were set to end on October 6, the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation did not mention culls.
It said it was allowing Aboriginal Land Trust rangers to muster unbranded cattle for commercial sale, with the proceeds going directly into the management of the national parks.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Cape York manager Nick Smith said the management program would begin later this year.
“The management program will target the remaining unbranded cleanskin cattle and feral pigs in the national parks,” he said.
“Cattle can cause extensive damage to the natural and cultural values of our national parks by trampling vegetation, impacting on water bodies and competing with native animals for food.
“It is estimated that cattle populations can increase by around 40% annually, and our management program has the support of landholders, DAF, environmental groups and Traditional Owners.
“The QPWS encourages neighbouring landholders who have not yet applied for a mustering permit to discuss cattle management with their local Ranger in Charge.”
The Cape is now an absolute disgrace. If the majority of people on the east coast really knew that the majority of the Cape is locked up in National Parks and Nature Reserves they would be in uproar. I have many Atum Baya friends who have been locked out of areas on the Heathlands, and the are the TO’s! It’s a bloody disgrace.
What about the government causing extensive damage to the land all over Australia where they are placing these useless ugly wind turbines & solar panels. Including the Great Dividing Range. Next the whole country is going to be alight.
Why , cull the unbranded Cattle let the Traditional Land Owners engage with the financial support from the Parks and Wildlife service Department, Government needed to listen to Traditional Land Owners of their respective area , this will benefits Traditional Land Owners in resourcing the corporation. We have enough empty vacant free hold Aboriginal Land that can be initialised to engage in cattle business, why aren’t the Aboriginal Traditional Land Owners running and managing their own cattle business in Cape York this is an opportunity to give a try and get in Cattle business.
When cattle is in National Parks or on Aboriginal Free hold or on Native Title Claim Land especially unbranded it is the property of the Tradatitionl Land Owners, Common sense approach put up the fence lock the gate monitor your stock . The last thing we Tradatitionl Land Owners want is the Cape smelling stink of dead carcass across the place and then the pigs eats the dead rotten carcass, we Aboriginal Traditional Land Owners hunts and eat will pigs .
Culling is definitely not an option it’s a recipe for health risk to the Aboriginal Peoples lives who and hunt wild pigs .
Pigs water buffalo do more damage than cattle native aminals feed differently to cattle. Cattle also reduce fire fuel from the be floor by eating the grass,if the cattle move out weed will take over also the price of meat will subsequently increase,let the hunters cull the unbranded cattle and buffalo the money raised will help the aboriginal community they will also have access to be fresh meat
I applaud the idea of indigenous rangers mustering unbranded cattle to resell to the market as unfortunately govts and ill informed narrow minded people only consider culling as the only answer
I agree
Full names required for future comments please Cheryl, as per our long-standing reader comment policy. Failure to do so will lead to submitted comments not being published. Editor