Neal Finch

Expenditure and motivation of Australian recreational hunters

Abstract Context. Recreational hunting has a long history in Australia, as in other parts of the world. However, the number, characteristics and motivations of Australian hunters have never been investigated in the same way as those in other countries where hunting occurs. Aims. In this report, we aimed to systematically survey Australian recreational hunters to determine their demographic characteristics, patterns of spending and motivations. Methods. Between September 2011 and June 2012, we encouraged hunters to participate in an anonymous online survey hosted by SurveyMonkey. We asked 53 questions about the hunters, their hunting patterns, expenditure on hunting and their motivations to hunt. Key results. In total, 7202 hunters responded to the survey. The respondents were overwhelmingly male and 67% were aged between 31 and 60 years. Almost 34% of respondents were from Victoria, 26.7% from New South Wales and 22.0% from Queensland. Average direct expenditure on hunting was A

I just want to count them! Considerations when choosing a deer population monitoring method

1835 per person per annum, whereas indirect expenditure was A

Using machine vision classification to control access of animals to water

2168. Over 99% of respondents said that they would be willing to participate in pest-control activities if they had the opportunity. Conclusions. There are likely to be at least 200 000 and more likely 300 000 recreational hunters in Australia and they spend in excess of A

At home in a new range: wild red deer in south-eastern Queensland

1 billion dollars annually on hunting. Almost all of these hunters are willing to participate in direct wildlife management activities, such as pest control. Implications. The Australian recreational hunting community is large, active and willing to spend large amounts of money on hunting. Their activities need to be understood and participants engaged by wildlife managers so as to obtain the best outcomes for wildlife management in Australia.

A review of methods used to capture and restrain introduced wild deer in Australia

Effective management of any population involves decisions based on the levels of abundance at particular points in time. Hence the choice of an appropriate method to estimate abundance is critical. Deer are not native to Australia and are a declared pest in some states where their numbers must be controlled in environmentally sensitive areas. The aim of this research was to help Australian land managers choose between widely used methods to count deer. We compared population estimates or indices from: distance sampling, aerial surveys, spotlight counts, and faecal pellet counts. For each we estimated the labour input, cost, and precision. The coefficient of variation varied with method and time of year from 8.7 to 36.6%. Total labour input per sampling event varied from 11 to 136 h. Total costs of vehicles and equipment per sampling event varied from AU

Animal management in the Australian rangelands

913 to

Oh deer, what can the matter be? Landholder attitudes to deer management in Queensland

2966. Overall, the spotlight method performed the best at our study site when comparing labour input, total cost and precision. However, choice of the most precise, cost effective method will be site specific and rely on information collected from a pilot study, We provide recommendations to help land managers choose between possible methods in various circumstances.

Machine vision classification of animals

Invasive vertebrate pests together with overabundant native species cause significant economic and environmental damage in the Australian rangelands. Access to artificial watering points, created for the pastoral industry, has been a major factor in the spread and survival of these pests. Existing methods of controlling watering points are mechanical and cannot discriminate between target species. This paper describes an intelligent system of controlling watering points based on machine vision technology. Initial test results clearly demonstrate proof of concept for machine vision in this application. These initial experiments were carried out as part of a 3-year project using machine vision software to manage all large vertebrates in the Australian rangelands. Concurrent work is testing the use of automated gates and innovative laneway and enclosure design. The system will have application in any habitat throughout the world where a resource is limited and can be enclosed for the management of livestock or wildlife.

Cattle liveweight estimation using machine vision assessment of objective body measurements: First results

Abstract Context. Wild deer are increasing worldwide and, in Australia, prompting land managers to review management strategies. Management activities may be ineffective without a sound understanding of the ecology of the species. No peer-reviewed research has been published for wild red deer in Australia, where they have been introduced. Aims. To help land managers gain an understanding of some movement parameters of introduced wild red deer out of their natural range. Methods. GPS collars were used to obtain movement rates (m h–1), annual home range using three estimators and seasonal home range using the Local Convex Hull estimator. Key findings. Deer at our study site displayed typical crepuscular movements. However, the lack of elevated activity for stags in summer varies greatly to reports from overseas. The annual home range of hinds was much smaller than that of stags. Large differences for seasonal home ranges from the same deer for two winters suggest that seasonal conditions may exert a large influence on the size of home ranges. The home ranges of deer at our study site were comparable with the largest reported in European studies, but the relationship between deer density and home-range area was markedly different. Conclusions. It appears that Australian wild red deer behave differently from their European conspecifics for several important movement parameters. Wild stags did not display the high levels of movement activity in summer, like those in Europe, and the home-range areas of our deer were very large for the high densities we encountered compared with overseas reports. Implications. Targeted management of hinds may prove beneficial as hinds had a much smaller and continuous home range than stags. If managers want to target stags, there is only a short rut period when they continually associate with hinds and that may be the most efficacious time for control. Additionally, future research may need to explore the link between home range and deer density, and the effect of variation in rainfall on home range and movement of wild red deer which may influence management activities more than do the regular seasonal patterns found in Europe.

Practices of Australian Recreational Hunters

Six non-native deer species have established wild populations in Australia, and most are expanding in distribution and abundance. There is therefore increasing focus on the need to understand and manage these species. Capturing and immobilising wild deer is essential for many research and management applications, but the best methods for doing this have not been identified for the Australian situation. To address this knowledge gap, we systematically reviewed methods used to physically capture and chemically immobilise the six wild deer species in Australia. A variety of physical and chemical restraint methods have been used to capture wild deer in Australia, but these have seldom been reported in peer-reviewed publications. Physical capture methods have employed a variety of trapping and netting configurations. Some chemical immobilisation approaches have used oral baiting, but most have relied on darting of free-ranging animals or hand-injection of physically restrained deer. There is uncertainty about the efficacy and animal welfare impacts of the techniques currently used to capture wild deer in Australia. Improved reporting of capture outcomes would facilitate the identification of ‘best practice’ techniques for capturing wild deer in Australian environments.