TasFarmers Matters - Challenges of dealing with introduced species

Nothing frustrates primary producers more than red tape that works against a business owner’s ability to achieve a profit while providing a benefit to others who don’t pay for the privilege.

Red tape can, however, be hard to see, and unless viewed from a different perspective, it is difficult to identify.

Doing so can highlight the ridiculous nature of our regulatory environment and the burning platform for change.

Take, for example, the following situation: Scott, a recent immigrant from Scotland, decides that during the next season he will plant a crop of scotch thistles as a pollination source for his beehives and to make his property feel a bit closer to home, full of beautiful purple flowers.

This new venture is a raging success for him, with the invasive species quickly taking over his property.

Due to windy conditions in late summer, the seed quickly spreads to neighbouring properties and then across the district.

Before the region knows it, this invasive introduced species is spreading broadly and out of control.

Some neighbours work hard to control the spread on their properties, but without all landholders making a concerted effort, the problem is difficult to manage.

For Scott, this situation is wonderful; his region now feels more and more like home.

As a hobby, Scott is also a member of the state recreational thistle society.

This group of thistle lovers gathers regularly and sees the establishment of this pest species as something that should be promoted and protected.

This, in their view, will allow everyone to enjoy their cultural ritual of driving into the countryside on weekends to harvest the plants’ pretty purple flowers.

This small but vocal group is so passionate about this that they lobby the state government for scotch thistle to be classed as a partially protected species, and they are successful.

As a result, primary producers and recreational thistle lovers now need to purchase an annual permit from the government to pick thistles each summer, and at other times of the year the thistles are largely protected from being removed or damaged.

To further protect the species, permit holders are only issued a small number of tags each year, which they must apply to each plant when removing it to ensure the thistle population is not significantly impacted....

I will stop this story here, as by now I’m sure you will be starting to think about what a ridiculous situation this is.

However, unbelievably, this exact situation exists in Tasmania today, with feral introduced deer enjoying partial protection status.

The current regulatory environment for the species, which has allowed the growth and protection of the population so recreational hunters have the opportunity to hunt each year, is completely out of step with any pragmatic form of common sense.

Farmers whose profitability is impacted are not compensated for their loss, are not able to harvest the species for meat at scale, and are often frustrated by poaching conducted by recreational hunters.

The result of this government decision, which supports the interests of recreational hunters, is significant.

The invasive species spreads further, taking over our National Parks and World Heritage Areas, and has a substantial impact on native flora.

The impact on primary producers is also severe, with farmers’ productivity constantly undermined by the species, which spreads rapidly, outcompetes pasture, and contaminates high-value irrigated crops.

Despite this, the government maintains the partially protected status for the species, costing the state’s producers tens of millions of dollars each year and causing frustration in the rural sector to reach a breaking point.

Primary producers cannot understand how their profitability must be undermined to protect the presence of an invasive species, so those living mainly in cities then have the opportunity to harvest, without any financial return to the affected producer.

Strong action is needed now by government to create meaningful reforms that control this species and protect the state’s primary producers’ right to farm.

Our producers cannot continue to bear the damage bill associated with deer reducing their profitability and damaging important infrastructure such as fences. Today, the tail definitely seems to be wagging the stag.