[|I] f there is one thing that RSPCA president Lynne Bradshaw and I agree on it is her statement last week.

“Feral pig numbers are out of control from Geraldton in the north, through the Perth Hills, Collie, Donnybrook, Manjimup and Albany,” she wrote. “Pigs are causing major environmental damage to public lands and farmland.”

But that is where the spirit of agreement begins to evaporate.

I have never [|before] heard her term “hobby hunters”. The highly emotive claims, using anecdotal evidence, of animal cruelty and criminal behaviour by these hunters, are repulsive to any reasonable thinking person. However, to date there has not to my knowledge been a charge or conviction to back those claims.

If the type of behaviour described does exist, it is criminal action and these people should not be referred to as hunters, hobby or otherwise, as they are not reflective of the hunting community who are responsible and respectful and do not deserve to be vilified.

Given the vast numbers of feral pigs, it is difficult to understand what benefit could be obtained by an individual catching, securing and nurturing, then transporting live pigs for release into open bush.

The concept — that the pigs will provide sport for that specific individual — is so flawed that it is difficult to accept that the practice occurs with any frequency, if at all.

My question to the Agriculture Minister Ken Baston in Parliament on February 26 asked what evidence exists to support claims of “pig seeding”. He responded: “This has been going on for some time, with people claiming that pigs get released into the wild so people can hunt them. I have to say that I have heard this claim over time and I do not believe there has been any evidence to back it up.”

In correspondence, the minister said the Department of Agriculture has used road blocks targeted at the alleged illegal transportation of feral pigs. To date, there have been no prosecutions.

Mrs Bradshaw ignores the more logical causes for an increase in feral pig numbers — their ability to breed at an alarming rate and the capacity for successive generations to migrate hundreds of kilometres.

At the recent State Biosecurity Forum, speakers referred to the impact of budget cuts on their capacity to control feral pests. They called for more volunteer assistance from the shooting community and lauded several groups for their assistance with pig control on the south coast and goat control in Cape Range National Park.

My main point of contention is that Mrs Bradshaw claims to support the culling programs organised by Department of Parks and Wildlife, and carried out by (in her words) “hunters who are members of recognised recreational shooting organisations”. However she totally opposes and deplores the notion of recreational hunting.

It is difficult to understand why, even those who are so diametrically opposed to hunting, would not support structured and robust systems for recreational hunting, such as exist in NSW, Victoria, Tasmania and New Zealand.

These jurisdictions require that hunters have accreditation and strict compliance codes apply. They advocate for a safe environment for recreational hunting in a humane manner that is economically beneficial to local communities and tourism.

All provide a level of protection for many vulnerable native species by targeting predators such as wild dogs, foxes and feral cats.

[|Rick Mazza is an Upper House member for the Shooters and Fishers Party ]