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Speaker 1: Bit of a change of pace because there is some

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Speaker 1: concerns about feral pigs in Darwin's northern suburbs. And joining

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Speaker 1: me on the line to talk a little bit more

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Speaker 1: about the situation is Bart Erlin and he is with

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Speaker 1: the nt Field and Game Association. He's also an avid hunter.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you.

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Speaker 2: Bart, Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: Lovely to chat with you this morning. Bart, just with

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Speaker 1: these pigs, what do you know so far about this

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Speaker 1: situation in Leona with the feral pigs being there.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it was a friend of mine that sent me

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Speaker 2: through the photos and the story in regards to what

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Speaker 2: ran in the nt News or on NTEN News last week.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, he was confronted. You. I think he was

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Speaker 2: walking going for a walk in the evening through Leanna

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Speaker 2: and yeah, all of a sudden, the I think three

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Speaker 2: to four pigs were jumping out of the bushes next

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Speaker 2: to the footpath there and and Leana.

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Speaker 1: So can they be quite dangerous? Like can it be

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Speaker 1: quite a dangerous situation? But with them in that area,

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Speaker 1: it's like it's not something I've ever heard of before.

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Speaker 2: Well, I can remember some pigs they're in Luod Miller

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Speaker 2: once it was a problem there but yeah, these could

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Speaker 2: be a really dangerous situation if if they confront of

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Speaker 2: young children or people's pets, or you ain't just adults

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Speaker 2: walking in this case walking along there, or cyclists. You

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Speaker 2: can imagine it came off second best if they ran

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Speaker 2: out in front of a pushboy. Yeah, but they're not ideal.

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Speaker 2: It's not surprising that they're they're considering just below land.

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Speaker 2: You've got the landa Swansea, You've got the Shelby waste

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Speaker 2: facility there, and you've got Homes Jungle, Like they're all

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Speaker 2: perfect big habitat, and they're there coming out of there

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Speaker 2: and roaming the streets of what is a beautiful leafy suburb.

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Speaker 1: And I mean, but I'd made a bit of a

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Speaker 1: joke about it on a last week and said, you know,

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Speaker 1: maybe we need to get you or Jared Maylee out

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Speaker 1: there to sort them out. But what do they need

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Speaker 1: to do?

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Speaker 2: Well, as I say, there's the parks and are life

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Speaker 2: reserved there? I'm not I'm not advocating that probably the

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Speaker 2: million dollar pig should be conducted at competition should be

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Speaker 2: conducted at the Homes Jungle, But the parks of arelife

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Speaker 2: have I think eighty three reserves throughout the Northern Territory,

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Speaker 2: many of which are here in the top end and

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Speaker 2: would have sales and salesands of wild pigs inhabiting them.

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Speaker 2: And they're terrible animals, you know, from my view. They

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Speaker 2: destroy makeboy goose habitat. They eat the same food the

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Speaker 2: goose do. They eat goose eggs, They eat the wild

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Speaker 2: rice and the tubers that make boy goose depend upon,

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Speaker 2: and in those habitats they can They can plow up

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Speaker 2: twenty acres of swamp a night, and if that water

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Speaker 2: is receding as it is currently will they can destroy

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Speaker 2: a swamp in just a month or two and it

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Speaker 2: takes years for that to revegetate to what would have

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Speaker 2: been Christine. And like I've been advocating for a number

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Speaker 2: of years now, the million dollar pig competition based on

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Speaker 2: the million dollar barrel is an ideal way on parks

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Speaker 2: and wildlife land and probably adjoining Crown land to reduce

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Speaker 2: the numbers, to control the spread of pigs and at

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Speaker 2: the same time bring in the tourists, activate the local

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Speaker 2: hunters with more incentive. If you know one ten five,

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Speaker 2: ten thousand dollars pigs, million dollar pigs with that baked

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Speaker 2: hunters would do a pair of good and when you

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Speaker 2: consider they haven't. There's only two out of the eighty

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Speaker 2: five reserves in the Northern Territory that actually allow pig hunting.

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Speaker 2: That's Scholbay Conservation Reserve and Harrison Dam. So it's not

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Speaker 2: as if it can't be done. It's not being permitted

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Speaker 2: on nearly enough for the majority of hunters.

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Speaker 1: It doesn't sound like there's a real win. Yeah, it

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Speaker 1: doesn't sound like there's a real will there from the

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Speaker 1: relevant minister. But do we know who the relevant minister

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Speaker 1: is now since the reshuffle and is it worth revisiting

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Speaker 1: with them?

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Speaker 2: Well, I think parks and war loss has gone back

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Speaker 2: to minister you both. That may be an area. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: I wrote down the note. See I'm hoping that in

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Speaker 2: the next government or the next parliament or the next

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Speaker 2: reshuffle we get a Minister for Hunting, Conservation and target shooting.

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Speaker 2: Yeah right, it's an NTY feeling game. Could be the

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Speaker 2: prime advisor. I'll take a retainer.

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Speaker 1: Oh well, but we'll wait and see. Mate. We are

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Speaker 1: going to have to wrap up. But how's how has

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Speaker 1: your hunting been going? There is magpie geese everywhere at

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Speaker 1: the moment.

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Speaker 2: I know, I know, and that's going to be the

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Speaker 2: basis of Sunday's column, I think. But yeah, I went

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Speaker 2: out hunting yesterday morning and only the second time I've

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Speaker 2: hunted this season, and I went to put me a

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Speaker 2: cay was out and I couldn't believe the footprints at

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Speaker 2: make Point geese were just completely covered the ground. I

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Speaker 2: went ooh, this is going to be a good hunt. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: and it certainly was. Like when you're seeing bird footprints,

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Speaker 2: you know you're in the right spot.

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Speaker 1: Mate. Never mind their footprints, they are pooling everywhere. It's

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Speaker 1: literally all over every every oval that you go on

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Speaker 1: at the moment for a run or to play any sport.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I wouldn't want to be sliding in the

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Speaker 2: goal at the moment.

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Speaker 1: No, exactly, Barto. And always good to catch up with you, mate.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning. Sorry we were

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Speaker 1: running a bit lash no.

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Speaker 2: Thank you, Katian. Thanks for always giving us a go

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Speaker 2: on three sixty.

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Speaker 1: No worries it all. Thank you.