More than 500 people filled the Box Hill Town Hall last night in a strong show of public opposition to the State Government's six-year alpine grazing trial.

"This issue has angered conservationists, scientists and thousands of ordinary Victorians, and we intend to continue our campaign until the cows come home - permanently," said the Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) executive director Matt Ruchel.

Environment groups welcomed the cutting short of this year's grazing season, but warned that unless the trial was permanently abandoned, or outlawed by federal environment minister Tony Burke, the cattle could be back next summer.

"The cattle grazing trial is flawed scientifically and legally - Premier Baillieu should step in and permanently abandon the trial before this debacle embarrasses his government any further," said the Wilderness Society's national campaign director Lyndon Schneiders.

Federal environment minister Tony Burke told the crowd that if existing federal laws don't prove strong enough to prevent damaging activities like cattle grazing, he will examine ways to amend the laws to give the Federal Government greater powers to protect national parks for future generations.

After tomorrow's deadline to remove the cattle, the Federal Government will legally be able to begin a proper assessment of the grazing trial to determine if it breaches national environmental laws.

"Victorian environment minister Ryan Smith has agreed to remove the cattle this week, but he still hasn't said whether cattle will be sent back in again next summer, and the State Government hasn't backed away from the planned six-year trial," Mr Schneiders said.

"The Bushfires Royal Commission did not recommend cattle grazing as a fuel reduction tool, or even make it a priority for further research," said Mr Ruchel.

"What's really needed is an independent, highly-qualified scientific panel to assess and prioritise genuine research needs for fire and park management, in line with the Royal Commission's recommendations," he said.

During the town hall meeting this public statement was endorsed by participants:

We call on the Victorian Government to:

1. No Alpine Grazing: Immediately and permanently remove cattle from the Alpine National Park and abandon the current deeply flawed trial.

2. Real Research: Initiate a highly qualified scientific panel to assess and prioritise research needs for fire and park management, in line with the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission recommendations.

3. Improve Park Management: Significantly increase funding for systematic on-ground management including pest plant and animal control in the Alpine National Park and in the rest of the reserve system across the state.

We call on the Australian Government to:

1. Stop Grazing in the Alpine National Park: Use its powers under national environmental laws to ensure cattle are removed permanently from the Alpine National Park.

2. Make National Parks National: Initiate a review of national environmental laws and funding to improve recognition, protection and management (including pest animals and plants) of national parks and other protected areas across Australia.

Media Release
The Wilderness Society, Victorian National Parks Association
22 March 2011

A herd of four life-sized cow puppets visited Melbourne heritage icons, Parliament House and the Royal Exhibition Building, today as environment groups step up their calls for the Baillieu Government to abandon its six-year cattle grazing trial in the heritage listed Alpine National Park.

“The Federal Environment Minister’s decision last Friday to use his powers to call-in the grazing trial shows that the Victorian Government is acting in defiance of national environmental laws” said Luke Chamberlain, Victorian Campaigns Manager for The Wilderness Society.

“The cattle must be removed once and for all and the long-term trial in the national park abandoned completely, otherwise the cattle will be simply put back in next summer” said Matt Ruchel, Executive Director, Victorian National Parks Association.

400 cattle were returned to the Alpine National Park in early January as the first stage in a six year study which has been widely criticised by the scientific community and compared to Japan‘s ‘scientific whaling’.

“The grazing trial has been shown to be scientifically flawed, politically motivated and potentially illegal under national environmental laws,“ Mr Chamberlain said.

“In just a couple of months the cattle have already trampled endangered alpine wetlands and damaged the habitat of rare plants and animals – they should never have been there in the first place,” he added.

Environment groups also criticized the state government for trying to dress up cattle grazing as a key fire prevention tool.

“Notably the Black Saturday Bushfires Royal Commission did not recommend the return of grazing for fire management as one of its 10 research priorities,” said Mr Ruchel.

“Alpine cattle grazing is taking effort and resources away from other more important bushfire research,“ he concluded.

The Wilderness Society is concerned that plans for aerial baiting of wild dogs - outlined in a Victorian Government media release today - will lead to unnecessary deaths of native animals.

"We are yet to see the details of the proposed aerial baiting program, and we’re worried that national parks and other high conservation value areas of public land could be affected, with serious impacts on dingoes and other wildlife," said Wilderness Society campaigner Richard Hughes.

Aerial baiting is much less targeted than established on-ground baiting methods. When they are dropped from a plane the poison baits sit on the ground where they can easily be eaten by non-target wildlife such as Dingoes and Quolls. This makes it a high-risk approach to managing wild dogs."

“Wild dog control needs to be targeted where there is a threat to livestock - not applied at a broad scale.”

“Farmers need to be able to protect their stock, and we support appropriate methods that are strategically focused where there is a problem” Mr Hughes concluded.