Identifying game animals

Before you can determine whether a potential shot is legal and ethical, you must first be able to properly identify the animal beyond all doubt. Wildlife identification is a necessary skill for responsible hunters. Before heading out for a hunt, you should not only study the animals you are hunting but also other animals you might encounter and whether they are protected.

The Game and Feral Animal Control Act 2002 sets out species that may be hunted on public or private lands in NSW. Schedule 3 of the Act classifies these species as game animals and provides for three categories. The category of a game animal determines whether they may be hunted on public or private land by holders of a game hunting licence.

The three categories are:

• Part 1: non-indigenous game animals
• Part 1A: native game birds (private land only)
• Part 2: non-indigenous animals.