The mistaken shooting of a pygmy hippopotamus in the Northern Territory highlights the sheer dopiness of those advocating live game reserves in Australia. The animal in question was probably living alone in the wild for years before its demise, most...

A pygmy hippopotamus. A pygmy hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Northern Territory. A pygmy hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Northern Territory.Nico Courtney, 27, was out spot-lighting...

Pork producers in Australia face a tough task just to survive in the business. It's a competitive environment with low pork prices and high feed costs characterizing the industry. The presence of feral pigs that might transmit an exotic disease...

You learn something new everyday. Yesterday I learned that wearing wool is like carrying your own little carbon sink around. I gave a presentation on the impacts of rabbits and wild dogs on wool production at a meeting of fine...

At least two books have been written entitled "Deer Wars". Over 25 years ago the highly respected population ecologist Graeme Caughley wrote "Deer Wars: the history of deer in New Zealand" and more recently American Robert Frye has written of...

The recent airing of the BBC Documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed in Australia was an insight into the blinkered thinking of those breeding dogs for shows. Never mind the functionality of an animal, but focus entirely on the look, a look...

Bounties are one of the most talked about but least understood issues associated with pest animal management. They are simple in concept: pay people for dispatch of a particular animal and thus put an economic incentive on reducing numbers. So...

Don and Meg Thomas earn their living from the land in the Wallangarra area of Southern Queensland. Unfortunately for Don and Meg they are one of the many landholders that are under siege from wild dog attacks on their livestock....

Director of Animal Liberation Australia, Mark Pearson, has told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio program The Current that a camel is better off to die from dehydration than a bullet. To be exact, Mr Pearson said "there is veterinary science to...

The "Bush" Capital of Australia, Canberra, is developing a range of environmental projects that will be icons in the future. Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is slowly recovering from the devastation of the 2003 bushfires and two new projects are underway: Mulligans...

If you go down to Wests Rugby Club in Belconnen in the Australian Capital Territory tonight, you're liable to get a shock. Around about seven, you'll notice a group of the more mature patrons back their stools away from the...

You've got to give the Shooter's Party in New South Wales some credit. Robert Brown, the MLC proposing an amendment to the Game and Feral Animal Control Act has agreed to speak at a public meeting on the Bill at...

My comment to Associated Press that I wouldn't mind getting shot in the head if I was a camel has got more than a few comments flying around the odd blog. Lots of people have an opinion, from animal rights...

Those pesky camels are making news around the world. This is an African interpretation of a BBC story. I'd say it's gone from English to another language and back again. I'm calling those animal welfare groups animal gratification groups from...

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is reported to be a hands-on kind of guy, but it seemed a bit much for American finance show host, Erin Burnett, to label him a "serial killer" because his government is funding a camel...

Paddy McHugh is passionate about camels and he's written to me with his views. Our Cooperative Research Centre doesn't actually deal with camels (we share one PhD student with the Desert Knowledge CRC). AAP asked my views the other day...

Queensland has the toughest laws relating to feral animals in Australia, despite the State having a deer on its Coat of Arms (maybe we should start a petition about that?). Ferret and rabbit fanciers migrating to the Sunshine State have...

If public response to 60 Minutes story on hunting animals is any indication, there is an overwhelmingly positive reaction to Australian families taking up the gun in pursuit of deer at least (as opposed to the wonderful characterization of English...

Earlier this month, US Senators held hearings on invasive species. The US model for these type of high-level hearings is really impressive and Senators look deeply at an issue without party political point scoring. The session is available for viewing,...

They've got enough footage to paint me as a great conservationist, a right-wing hick, a bleeding heart lefty or a plain old dope. Last Friday I spent a day filming a 60 Minutes segment with reporter Charles Wooley, a cool...