Practices of Australian recreational hunters

Practices of Australian recreational hunters

Recreational hunting using firearms has been common in Australia since European colonisation. Despite there being at least 200,000 active hunters in Australia little is known of hunters' practices, the number of animals they take or the time they spend hunting. To address this we conducted an online, anonymous survey which was open for responses between September 2011 and June 2012.

The survey was completed by 7,202 respondents across all states and territories. Respondents reported participating in up to six different hunting styles with two styles being the most commonly reported in all jurisdictions, with the exception of the ACT, where one style was the most common. Australia-wide, rifle shooting was the most preferred hunting style, followed by shotgun and bow hunting. Hunters spent more days on private land than public land in every jurisdiction.

Nation-wide the survey found that rabbits were the most commonly taken species, followed by foxes, pigs, then ducks and other waterfowl. However, more than 30 species might be taken by hunters in an average year. This hunting effort has the potential to influence wild population sizes and distributions. Hence it is important to obtain accurate information about the size of the recreational harvest. Research undertaken overseas shows that extrapolating the total take from self-reported harvest does not accurately reflect the numbers of animals that are actually taken and is likely to be an overestimate. We suggest that if accurate estimates of the impact of recreational hunting are ever to be obtained in Australia a system of mandatory licencing for hunting any species anywhere should be introduced so that hunter returns can be tracked over time.

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