Read at : Google Alert – desertification
Live cattle ban – the beginning of the end of pastoralism in the Northern Territory?
by Bob Gosford
THE FUTURE OF THE PASTORAL INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA’S NORTHERN TERRITORY
I made the call for a total and permanent shut down of the pastoral industry in the Northern Territory just a few days before the Australian Government imposed a temporary ban on the export of live cattle from northern Australia.
As I see it the industry is not economically viable, it is not ecologically sustainable, and it is an obstacle to obtaining wise fire management in the Northern Territory.
I believe that the time has come for a general re-evaluation of the industry in the light of the current economic circumstances and modern ecological knowledge.
It will be a good thing if the current temporary ban on live exports triggers off the long overdue re-evaluation of the industry in northern Australia. I do not expect my call to close the industry down to be welcomed by the governments involved or by the industry. I do see the need to close the industry down. We should not ignore this “elephant in the room“. We do need to deal with this matter.
I would like to see immediate talk about the best way to close the industry down over the next 5 to 10 years. The ecological situation is urgent. Orders to de-stock the land (made under the Soil Conservation and Land Utilisation Act) could be issued this year, and the country could be mainly de-stocked a year from now. That would help a great deal and maybe buy us some time.
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