by Jim O’Toole, Townsville Bureau
The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service continues its wanton shooting of extremely valuable straying cattle on unfenced Cape York national parks and Aboriginal land in most cases without the knowledge or authority of Traditional Owners and pastoralists.
The Queensland Labor Party Corporation is denying an alternative, cheap supply of protein to Peninsula Aboriginal communities by shooting and not allowing indigenous mustering teams to catch and slaughter these cattle for consumption in communities where the price of beef imported from Cairns or elsewhere averages $25 for one slice of beef steak at supermarkets.
There are three licenced slaughter houses on Cape York Peninsula where cattle could be processed.
Presently local communities have to resort to catching and consuming dwindling dugong and turtle populations for just a minimum protein intake.
On June 26, in response to complaints from Traditional Owners and local pastoralists we sent the below media inquiry to Minister Scanlon to which we have not received a reply.
The aerial culling by supposedly trained shooters who “shoot only unbranded stock” is laughable according to independent aerial shooter and nearby veteran cattle producer Mr John Witherspoon who shot many thousands of his own stock during the BTEC eradication campaign during the 1980’s.
He said is it impossible to distinguish between branded and unbranded cattle that are crashing through scrub at 40 – 50 klms per hour or galloping in high-grassed open forest being chased by a noisy helicopter.
Last year the QPWS claimed branded stock were not being shot or being wounded or maimed by QPWS employed shooters using 7.62 mm semi-auto rifles.
The QPS stated cattle were being killed by head shots only. Eye witness reports given to Cairns News were that many cattle, branded and unbranded were left to die with gut shots or broken limbs.
Recently commercial aircraft passengers witnessed a number of dead cattle on the ground at Heathlands National Park north east of Weipa, causing them anger and distress.
The media inquiry below was not replied to by Minister Scanlon, a former Gold Coast solicitor. Cape York residents have told Cairns News they would be starting a class action against the QPWS which would be filed in the Federal Court, Cairns.
QPWS Cairns manager Chris Kinnaird would be a respondent it was claimed:
Minister Meaghan Scanlon
Environment Dept
Brisbane
June 26, 2022
Media Inquiry
Dear Minister,
We have been made aware of an official Cape York Peninsula 10 year plan to eradicate all cattle from national parks, government nature reserves, private nature reserves, aboriginal-held land, DOGIT leases, Katter leases or any other land not held under a Pastoral Holding lease.
This in itself is a monumentally erroneous mission when few if any national parks are fenced.
CSIRO, in conjunction with Aboriginal-owned Normanby Station last year started a funded research project to electronically track the movements of cattle on Cape York Peninsula.
CSIRO refuses to release any information to us about this project.
Could you please confirm this ten year plan because as we write your officers are illegally shooting quite valuable cattle on national parks and Aboriginal land.
We have seen legal advice that these cattle do not belong to NPWS or the State Government in any shape or form.
Take note that when the State purchases Cape York properties, most of them former cattle stations, they are bought unstocked, eg, Dixie Station, Bramwell Station, Mt Kroll.
The only exception we are aware of is when Premier Beattie forced then lessees of Shelburne Bay Station to exit the property after refusing to renew their lease. In this case the State purchased the in situ cattle circa 2003.
Since then almost all of these Shelburne cattle have been either caught by local pastoralists or shot by NPWS.
Take note we have spoken directly to very experienced and professional aerial shooters who state that cattle or horses shot from the air cannot be differentiated between feral or domestic, branded or unbranded.
Indeed contributors to this news service have direct aerial shooting experience and confirm this fact.
It is legal malfeasance to suggest that cattle being shot have been abandoned by their owners after any period of time.
You should take cognizance of the fact that the entire Peninsula was officially declared stock-free by the DPI circa 1989 after the BTEC shoot out.
All cattle including their progeny re-introduced there since then have been purchased by pastoralists.
Can you please confirm that the long term plan for the Peninsula is to hand over the entire land mass to Aboriginal PBC’s and or other indigenous entities.
When does NPWS intend to shoot on Bromley NP, Batavia NP, Wenlock River and Wattle Hills?
Will the NPWS resume shooting along the Archer and Coen Rivers and when?
We are aware that pastoralists can apply for permits to enter national parks to recover their cattle but the process and conditions are so lengthy and onerous they either don’t apply or do so rarely receiving a ;permit.
Your early advice on all questions would be appreciated.#
why are they clearing the top of Australia ? Makes me nervous !!!
Don’t know Tony we didn’t ever get his email address? Ed
The Great Reject … I like that one.
This plan might go back more than ten years. Remember Wayne Goss who wanted to turn the entire east coast of Cape York into NP?
What gets me is this whole ‘animal welfare’ focus – we the plebes have to adhere to the animal welfare act but the Q govt can ignore it at will. Hypocrites. Adding in the layer of deliberate sabotage to the food supply is another infuriating aspect and then the next layer of telling Aboriginal people that part of this move is to give them more opportunities for commercial ventures and then taking one of those lucrative ventures away. This is all wrong for so many reasons.
And don’t assume your letter to the minister was ever seen by her – it would have been immediately shuttled down the ranks somewhere ‘inside the dept’. She only sees what the dept allows her to see.
COnVID-1984 plandemic crippling supply chains, food plants on fire, farmers hamstrung by Climate Change hoax quotas, presidential orders not to produce more oil and give away reserves, high oil prices, inflation and now gas plant explosions. Orchestrated Cyberattacks will ramp up. They certainly plan on “Building Back Better” by destroying and killing billions of people.
Ed… Is it possible to contact Chris Long? His poem may well become the headstone of this historic era and I will be surprised if somebody doesn’t; put music to it.
I want it to precede a Manifesto for an Australian Democratic Meritocracy.
Is it true what they told me in the Humpty Doo Pub? That when Clive Palmer becomes Prime Minister he will declare open season on Greenies.? Also, what does ‘open season’ mean? All genders welcome? All these new-fangled expressions so confuse we old folks.
This is madness driven by the Greens 🤬
great comments. this is war against us and our animals and even Mother Nature…..tears will not even justify this cruelty
I look at every animal and plant on this beautiful planet with appreciation. I am grateful that they give their lives so that I might eat and survive. Whilst it is despicable to wantonly shoot them, not knowing if they are injured and will die in pain, slowly it is also despicable that there are human beings who will do this. Refuse, look to your conscience, is this right just because it is sanctioned by some imbecile in a government role, all who are proving that they have no soul. I am sure for the indigenous population there this must be heart rendering as they look at life in a much more reverent way than most westerners who only look at the dollar value and advantage to them.
The lie is so much bigger than this.
The BBTEC (Bovine Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign) shootout was generated by the US Cattlemen’s Association as a ploy to end Australian and NZ beef quotas on the US market. The quotas were a post-WWII concession by the Pentagon in exchange for US military installations.
The US Dept of Ag announced that brucellosis and tuberculosis would be eradicated by 1984 and that all importers must do likewise. The US failed and North Dakota still harbours both diseases. Nevertheless, traitor PM Bob Hawke, an exposed CIA agent, imposed the shootout anyway, which seriously upset NZ’s PM David Lange, resulting in the pan-Pacific Nations Banning of all US nuclear-armed ships and terminating the ANZAC alliance.
We lost our beef quota but copped even more US military installations. As former PM Malcolm Fraser pointed out, the US cannot be trusted and betrayed Australia on multiple occasions.
In the NT, this shoot-out damaged the tourism industry and caused the destruction of the potentially multi-billion dollar buffalo industry. Germany was prepared to pay double the price of beef for wild-caught meat.
The current shootout is part of a campaign to enhance the genocide of Aborigines and to destroy Australia’s food security generally. Those who deny the genocide, or who consider that I exaggerate, need to take into account I have worked in this and associated fields for more than fifty years, ten years of which were in the employ of the Commonwealth and NT Governments. I do not use words like ‘genocide’ lightly, and in fact, refused to until the last five years’ collation of evidence forced me to reverse this assessment.
It is critical that we all fight this destruction of Australians and Australia. Parks and Wildlife Services are now run by WEF stooges.
Time for the “Great Reject” as we reject their extermination and plans for us!?
Politicians lie all the time, it is part and parcel of their job, unfortunately, and to our detriment. Why can’t they simply tell the truth for a change (which they expect us to do) in lieu of continually trying to cover up their unearthed lies by denying the bleedin’ obvious. Both the politician responsible and the premier should resign with their heads held low because we are sick and tired of their ‘examples’ to the community they were elected to represent.