When did the wild dog get to Australia? Did it cross a land bridge or was it brought here by man? Heaps of emotive questions surround our wild Australian dogs. Have they more right to be here than our stock? Whatever the answers are, one thing is for sure, your life would be far more expensive and a lot less enjoyable without the success of our primary production. We must be good Shepards of our herds.

For over 30 years, our business AWCA has been a strong supporter of the Quality Deer Management Association of America. Part of what we do is the donation of a guided hunt for QDM members almost every year. Here is the first part of David and Larry's trip, a top class free range Queensland fallow deer buck.

The land of drought and flooding rain.... Australia.
We were trying to get this trapline working before the rain but the wet season in Queensland is always unpredictable. You just have to learn to adapt to it and do your best.

My personal feeling is that we, as true hunters, need to aim at being better "cullers" of deer herds than "killers". My Dad Jim McGhie was a culler in NZ and hated the fact that they had to change from being selective, to simply shooting everything to keep herds in check. We still have a chance to contain herds in this country and the best place to start is by carefully assessing every mob of deer we see. We will be posting regular clips like this on the www.theridgegroup.net website. We would love to have you as part of the team.

We were trapping on the second property now, with only four days before predicted rain. Could we manage to come up with a good tally? My daughter Grace was with me and she is one of the best things in my life, how could rain dampen our spirit!

Although Queensland is largely looking green and fresh at the moment, with high cattle prices, it wasn't this way for most of the last decade. Relentless drought has hammered the rural sector and taken its toll on the people who live on and work the land. Trapping/controlling wild dogs during this time is an essential part of property management. Here is the first of three clips we filmed just before the drought started to ease.

Hot dry and dusty with the hope of rain still a week away. We had dozens of traps in the ground, had our scent trails in place and the dogs were starting to fall. They too were showing the signs of suffering through this extended drought faze. Thats when we started having camera problems.

At this time of the year, a red stag with a little age on him, makes some of the best eating venison around. When you can combine that with management of the herd and time in the Aussie bush with like minded people, it becomes one of the best hunting experiences you can have.

Hunters, wake up to yourselves. Take exception to what I say if you wish but first, take the time to look up what Biosecurity Queensland thinks about wild deer and other introduced species. Read it all closely, then ask yourselves, "if they could click their fingers and have them all gone, would they". If you answer yes to this question, then all that is saving wild game (and hunting) is a current lack of technology or the approval/funding to use what they already have. We need to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. This clip focusses on the legislation we all have to work under in this State and introduces the system RIDGE has developed to improve the future of hunting and wild deer management.

The first traps were in the ground but Judy and I were as "crook as dogs" with some virus going around. The job had to be done, the traps had to be checked but it was cold and miserable. Still, it is one of the best offices in the world!!

My whole life has been based around trapping. When I was in my teens, I started trapping wild deer, on the ground and from the air. At that age I was shown how too set my first wild dog and fox traps, then I moved on to trapping a range of different species for Govt and private entities. Trapping requires skill and technique - first discreetly design and build your trap, think about what your target species is attracted to and provide the bait, crop, lure or attractant, then when the timing is right, spring it on your unsuspecting target. The remaining animals may now need to be caught a different way, even if they have to be flushed from cover by force. The same techniques work for people as well, so open your eyes.

A Rusa Stag for Chelsea