Urban pigeon shooting question

[elnino]

Hi all, I'm in SA and I have been approached by a business (friend of a friend style) that is on a large gated property but still in an urban area to help out with pigeon control.

I have all the kit to do the job, suitable license, hunting permit, insurance etc but I have never done this sort of thing in an urban area and I am not a commercial operator (no pest control licence etc). In all likelihood I could get the job done with no chance of interaction with the public and it'd be generally performed at night anyway but is there anything legal I need to cover off? Like let the police know beforehand just in case there is a call/complaint/report? Will they even allow it if I'm not a commercial operator? Would any part be considered illegal (SA does have some weird laws)?

Obviously it would all be performed with safety as a top priority, ensuring backstops etc and only with PCP rifle.

Or am I just getting into too much of a grey area and best to just stay the hell away?

[Damo300]

I'd contact your weapons licencing branch down there and put it to them.

I've done this before and had the following.

Written permission, including total time frame.

Rec hunting endorsement on licence.
Member of a hunting organisation with public liability insurance.

Do not cause alarm or fear. Let the neighbours know there may be gunshots, or they may witness an individual with a firearm on the area.

Keep ballistics inside the boundary line.




I recently returned from a short stay in SA.
What a beautiful area.
I need to get back with a spare 60days or so... haha.

[tuknal]

i know a little about this in NSW not SA
what do you mean by suitable lic /hunting permit/ and insurance ??
do you have public liability that covers firearms use
is this a paid job
i wouldnt have thought a hunting permit would cover urban control work
i doubt legally youll be allowed without the right licences,

in NSW youll need written permision/contracts from the people that want it done, a bussiness and or other condition on your licence ,,(contract shooter from what im told wont cover you for urban work)
youll need insurances that cover use of firearms ,,and yes its good to have a relationship with the police ,,cos if a member of the public hears or sees whats going on the police can inform them its legit
not to mention signage blockages etc ,,if done properly
i know ppl that were fairly involved in this stuff on the northern beaches (sydney)
yes its a stuff around but if you can get into it not bad either (an avenue for other tools of the trade if you get my drift) ,you wont make alot from it though
a mate still does a few golf courses /council parks and school work and the registry are making life harder and harder for him ,the police are fine with it as long as they know

[elnino]

I guess this is the grey area that I'm trying to work out.
From what I can tell, in SA I can do pest control without a specific pest control license as long as I don't charge for it (which I would not be)
I have a hunting permit
I have public liability insurance
I have a hunting endorsement on my 'tool' license
The property is fully gated/secure so there is no chance of the public stumbling onto the property.

All of this works fine in more rural areas, but this one is sort of on the fringe.

I guess I just need to chat to SAPOL and get their view on it. If I'm not doing it commercially, and they have no problem with it I can't see it likely to land me in hot water. I just thought there might be some people here with more specific experience.

[Fester]

I wouldn't imagine a rec shooter could shoot in a non-rural area in any state.

I used to hear of blokes shooting rabbits with a pro pest control licenced mate, not sure on if it is 100% legal.
The licensed bloke is getting free labour that may sway him to let a mate shoot.
Urban rabbits are one of the main reasons to use suppressors.

I was a maintenance fitter for a big top 50 Aus company, but they were tight as.
The pigeon shooters came in on the arvo shift when the plant was running.
I suspect they should have done the shooting on the night shift when the plant operators were not there.
One bloke was a crack shot, but the other was missing, and likely some pellets would be bouncing back from the big steel I-beams.