Victorian legislation has typically led the nation in animal welfare and wildlife protection issues. Notably the establishment of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in 1980 was the forerunner of all such committees in Australia and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986 was one of the first modern animal welfare statutes in Australia. The Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 was one of the first pieces of legislation that addressed the conservation of native flora and fauna through the management of threatening processes.
As a consequence of the State's current legislation and regulatory controls, with three notable exceptions, few species of native flora and fauna are taken from the wild in Victoria.
The three main exceptions to these restrictions on utilisation are the taking of defined game species (for example certain species of native duck), the harvesting of fish and the utilisation of native forests for timber. Legislative provision for these three forms of utilisation is long-standing.
Notwithstanding restrictions in Victoria on taking native species from the wild, cull or removal of defined species of native fauna is permitted if a local population is deemed to be having an adverse impact on agricultural activity or the special values of public land. One such instance, the culling of kangaroos in the Hattah-Kulkyne National Park, proved highly controversial.1 There was a public outcry with calls for such culling to cease. Others, while supporting the culling, were dismayed at the perceived waste and advocated that use be made of the carcasses for meat or skins as is permitted in other States.2
There have been other instances where the use of animals that are being killed as part of culling programs has been advocated. For instance, suggestions for making use of corellas, cockatoos and galahs being killed as part of required culling programs were investigated by the Committee during 1994-1995.3
In June 1998, the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia's Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee tabled and published its report, Commercial Utilisation of Australian Native Wildlife.4 The Inquiry considered an array of philosophical, environmental and economic issues associated with the use of wildlife, as well as reviewing existing wildlife industries across Australia. `Wildlife' was taken by this Committee to include native plants as well as animals, although the emphasis was on native animals.
The Senate Committee proposed a series of generally applicable principles and made 12 recommendations, four of which specifically referred to the States. These are included as Appendix II of this Report. Their effect is that, subject to meeting prescribed conditions and processes, commercial utilisation of any species is supported.5
This Committee's Terms of Reference, unlike those of the Senate Inquiry, are not restricted to commercial forms of utilisation and require the Committee to report within a framework of ecologically sustainable use.
