18th April 2016

The Hon Mark Pearson, MLC for the Animal Justice Party is visiting Broken Hill on the 18 and 19th April to attend the Stock Theft and Trespass Review public meeting to participate in a discussion about the problem of illegal hunting and theft on rural properties.

“My office regularly receives calls from distressed landholders who are horrified by the carnage they find on their properties after a weekend spree by illegal hunters. Dead and dying wildlife, abandoned and injured pig dogs and even butchered wild pigs left at waterholes are not unusual finds. I am hopeful that the Review will be able to address this issue and I for one would be very supportive of more resources for rural crime investigators.”

As a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Companion Animal Breeding Practices, Mark will also take the opportunity to visit the Council Pound to see for himself the number of abandoned animals as a result of over-breeding.

“In regards to the numbers of unwanted animals that end up in pounds, I was very disappointed in the Government’s response to the Companion Animal Breeding Practices Committee which rejected the vast majority of the recommendations of the bipartisan report. We cannot continue to kill thousands of unwanted but perfectly healthy dogs and cats and call ourselves a civilised and humane society. Mandatory de-sexing, licencing for breeders and extending animal protection policing to rangers are just a few of the sensible reforms that should have been made.”

He is also keen to talk with locals about the forthcoming Kangaroo Management Plan given the large commercial hunting industry based in Broken Hill.

“Australia conducts the largest land-based wildlife slaughter in the world with it’s annual mass killing of kangaroos. No other country slaughters it’s national icon in such numbers.”