The Case for Public Land Hunting in Western Australia

Western Australian Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party member Rick Mazza recently introduced the Game and Feral Animal Control Bill 2018 to the WA Parliament. In the words of the explanatory memorandum, this bill is, "intended to provide an opportunity for orderly and safe recreational hunting on certain types of Crown land (public land); which in turn will contribute to the control of game and feral animals, and improved biodiversity, on that land." In this piece, I will make a case for why I believe that recreational hunters should be given public land access in WA.


One of the first aspects that should be considered is the potential economic benefits that recreational hunting on public land could bring to WA, particularly to regional communities. In 2013, the Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries commissioned a study to assess the economic impact of hunting in Victoria. Before the study, it was estimated that hunters contributed $100 million to the Victorian economy every year. The study, released in 2014, found that the actual value of hunting to the Victorian state economy is $439 million. Breaking this number down into areas, approximately 40% of expenditure occurred in metropolitan areas, while 60% of spending was in regional Victoria. It was also estimated that 1,115 jobs were generated as a direct result of hunting-related expenditure, with an additional 1,268 jobs stemming from indirect employment, "giving a total employment impact of 2,382 jobs." A similar 2017 study in NSW found that Game license holders in the state contributed $119 million to the Gross State Product (GSP), while non-game license holders contributed between $548 million to $1.6 billion to GSP. A 2019 report by RM Consulting Group found that the contribution to GDP from recreational hunting and sport shooting activity in Australia in 2018 was estimated to be $2.4 billion, comprising $0.8 billion directly and $1.6 billion as a result of flow-on economic activity. Citizens in regional Victorian communities have noted that hunting contributes significantly to local businesses. It should also be noted that many Western Australian hunters travel to either Victoria or New South Wales due to the limited hunting opportunities in WA, which indicates that public land hunting could bring in a significant amount of revenue for the state.


Safety is another factor that must be taken into account when considering the implementation of a public land hunting system. A report by the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine on hunting-related deaths in Australia was released in 2010. The report found that between July 2000 and August 2010, there were 1473 deaths while the deceased was engaged in a sporting activity identified by the National Coroners Information System (NCIS). Of these 1473 deaths, 22 involved a "Target Sport" with 13 of those fatalities being caused by the negligent discharge of a firearm. Throughout the same period, 111 deaths were recorded that involved "wheeled" activities, 170-173 deaths as a result of motorsports and 35 deaths that took place while engaging in equestrian activities. This data seems to indicate that hunting is a relatively safe outdoor activity when managed carefully, and all of the states in Australia that currently have public land hunting systems in place have excellent safety track records.


The 2019 report from RM Consulting Group also found that recreational hunting has many benefits regarding both physical and mental health. The report notes that hunters are more likely to undertake sufficient physical activity than the general population according to Australian guidelines, and this becomes very apparent with older citizens. For example, 53% of older hunters (i.e. aged 60 and over) meet physical activity guidelines compared to just 28% of those aged 65 and above in the general population. The report also found that hunters experience far higher levels of wellbeing (i.e. mental health and overall quality of life) compared to the general population. Participants in the report were asked two standard sets of questions on subjective wellbeing, the first being "global life satisfaction," where participants were asked to report their satisfaction with their life overall on a 0 to 10 scale. The second set of questions (Personal Wellbeing Index) asked participants to rate various aspects of their lives on a 0 to 10 scale, including standard of living, health and their personal relationships. The results converted into a range from 0 to 100 can be seen below.

The establishment of a public land hunting system in WA would be in line with the mission of the Department of Parks and Wildlife, regarding both facilitating "public involvement, visitation and appreciation of the natural and cultural environment on lands and waters managed by the department," and "state-wide management of pests." The implementation of a public land hunting system would provide citizens with another way to enjoy public lands in WA, and recreational hunters would contribute to the management of pest species such as foxes, cats, deer and goats. Allowing recreational hunters to target species on public lands would also ensure the utilisation of protein sources that would otherwise be wasted.