REPLY TO VICTORIAN KANGAROO ‘HARVEST’ MANAGEMENT PLAN 2023-2028
Gariwerd Animal Biodiversity Alliance, known as “GABA,” is a robust community group comprised mainly of individuals residing, working, and engaging in activities in Gariwerd (Grampians, Western Victoria, Australia). Our region is home to Gunditjmirring, Eastern Marr, and Barengi Gadjin Traditional Owner communities, and we acknowledge their ongoing unceded sovereignty, along with the reciprocal relationship of care and connection with Country. Within our committee, a First Nations Representative provides guidance on matters concerning First Nations Law and Lore.
GABA's submission responds to the four Scope of the Review areas as advertised on the engage website:
The Act, Regulatory Framework, First Nations and Compliance/ Enforcement followed by a list of substantive recommendations drawn from each. Our recommendations cover areas such as legislation, regulation, First Nations, poisons and chemicals, habitat, governance, and speciesism. Our submission concludes with a summary that calls for robust legislation that adequately protects wildlife, genuine collaboration with First Nations culture, recognising their leadership in caring for Country and all inhabitants, and encouraging positive engagement with wildlife to help restore the sense of wonder that intrinsically exists in the biophilic human
Non-human animals are living, thinking, and feeling individuals who experience the world around them and within them. They are subjects, not objects. 1 Birds have their own lives, their own wishes and intentions, their own moral code, sense of play, intelligence and will and wish to live. The more we learn about non-human animals of all species, the more we discover ways that they are like us, not different to us E very year, native birds suffer and die during the shooting season. The wounding rate is such a problem that t he Game Management Authority has established the Waterfowl Wounding Monitoring Program, affirming that wounding, hurting and suffering, is an inherent part of recreational duck shooting
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Fire is integral to protecting habitat for all species and acts as part of the restorative system of the natural world. As humans, we are part of nature, of Country, not separate to it. We also depend on the health of Country for our survival. Therefore, GABA has a strong interest in human knowledge and activities that supports the proclivity of nature to replenish Country for the sake of all species including our own. One of the most ancient knowledge bases in this regard is the use of fire. In balance, fire is restorative. Out of balance, fire is destructive. We are deligåhted to make our submission into understanding better how to reduce bushfire risk.
"There is only one fire, and that is the right fire, for the right Country" - Victor Steffensen, FireSticks Alliance.
Gariwerd Animal Biodiversity Alliance Inc., known as “GABA” is a group of people who live, work, and play in Gariwerd (Grampians, Western Victoria, Australia). GABA was incorporated in March 2021. The purposes of GABA are to:
• Ensure wildlife and their habitats are protected for forthcoming generations,
• Inform people about the importance of native wildlife to local ecology and biodiversity,
• Educate people about all species of non-human animals, including their needs, interests, rights, and relationships to land, sky, waters, and other species.
• Advocate for all animals and for biodiversity.
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