Communities across WA’s agricultural region can drive community action and awareness about feral animal control by taking part in 2021’s Sporting Shooters Association of Australia WA Community Red Card Fox Shoots.
The program, which is overseen State wide by Wheatbelt NRM, has evolved into a major “save the date” event across more than a dozen rural communities.
Managed by a network of local co-ordinators, the Red Card for Rabbits and Foxes program encourages regional people to make social connections and join the fight against feral animals such as foxes, rabbits and cats.
These introduced species can have debilitating impacts on livestock, crops, native animals and bushland.
One of Red Card’s longest running community shoots takes place in Cadoux, a northern Wheatbelt farming community small in size but mighty in spirit.
Boasting a population of just 67 as of the 2016 Census, for several years Cadoux has drawn a sizeable crowd from surrounding towns in the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu and the Shire of Koorda, as well as Perth.
A galvanising force for the town’s inhabitants, especially in lean years when drought ravages crops and livestock, the shoot has become a key spool of the community’s tightknit social fabric.
Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 situation, 2020 was a rebounding year for Cadoux, with participant numbers more than doubling to 31 from 14 in the rain-affected 2019 season.
This year’s main shoot is scheduled for next weekend from February 12-14.
Cadoux Red Card co-ordinator Ben Eustace said the event brings people together with a unique blend of competition, camaraderie and community action.
Eustace, who works on a Cadoux sheep farm, said the awareness the Red Card program raises about the importance of feral animal control is also invaluable.
“There’s not a lot of farmers with sheep per se, but there is a lot of farmers that are willing to get in and have a go and we all support each other,” he said.
“For us it means a whole lot that the community supports us and the other sheep farmers in the district and takes pride in feral animal management.”
About 1000 participants are expected to take part in Red Card events across the State between now and April, aiming to add to the almost 20,000 foxes, cats, rabbits and other feral animals culled through Red Card’s Autumn events since 2018.
Wheatbelt NRM chief executive Karl O’Callaghan said the Red Card program brings community ownership to the important issue of feral animal management.
“The SSAA WA Community Red Card Fox Shoots have run successfully for a number of years and drive a key message that the protection of our natural assets from feral animals is a shared effort,” he said.
“The program brings regional people in the Wheatbelt and further afield together for a common purpose ahead of the growing season and anyone interested should contact their local co-ordinator.”
There has been extra incentive for participants in recent years with $5 for every fox and cat culled being donated by the SSAA WA to the Regional Men’s Health Initiative.
Up to $93,000 has been raised so far, hitting the $20,000 mark in each of the past four years.
There is still time to register your Red Card event for the 2021 season. Official Red Card shoots can be run until April 30: www.redcard.org.au/registration.
People looking to take part in Red Card events should get in touch with their local co-ordinator to assess the impact of coronavirus measures introduced by the Western Australian Government in metropolitan Perth, Peel and the South West on their event.
Anyone who is in a location that is subject to lockdown measures must follow relevant directions enforced by State health authorities and police.
For more information head to the official Red Card website at www.redcard.org.au.