Game Management: the Science of Sustainable
Use
The University of Queensland short course
 Humans have utilised wildlife for as long as we have been humans.
Our use of wildlife has followed a consistent pattern. Firstly we use
wildlife without thought of the future, frequently with disastrous
results for some species. Tim Flannery most eloquently describes this
process in his book The Future Eaters. Often then a change
of thinking occurs, and our use becomes more thoughtful. In many cultures
this has led to a kind of spiritual relationship between humans, wildlife
and the land. In western societies, over the last century, use of wildlife
has become science based.
In Europe a great respect and admiration for hunted quarry and a desire
to conserve these wild animals and their habitats led to the Revier,
game management system in the 19th century. In the early part of the
20th century North Americans changed their relationship with wildlife
and brought many species back from the brink of extinction through
careful management, based on sustainable use. In Africa today the most
secure populations of wildlife are those that occur in countries with
a well managed system of sustainable use. In these three continents
this science based sustainable use of wildlife is known as game management.
Science based sustainable use of wildlife occurs in Australia with
the largest harvest of terrestrial mammals anywhere in the world. The
kangaroo harvest is arguably also the world’s best example of
sustainable use. With only a few notable exceptions the term game management
has not been widely used in an Australian context. We believe this
course to be the first tertiary level course of its kind offered by
any Australian University. With examples from Australasia and around
the world both the history and the current implementation of game management
are covered in detail. Note that this is not a how to hunt manual nor
is it a casual read. The science behind community ecology and population
biology are covered as well as the social and political context in
which game management occurs. The course takes 12 weeks and can be
undertaken by anyone with an interest in game management.
This course will include the following topics:
- The history of game management including models of game management
developed in North America, Europe, and Africa and more recently
in Australia
- Attitudes to wildlife will be described in relation to their utilisation,
animal welfare and other issues including cultural differences?
- Basic population models and how they relate to resource use will
be described. Methods of determining population size will be described
and their strengths and limitations discussed
- Techniques used in game management, and the regulations and quotas
imposed on game (in Australia) will be described, and their strengths
and limitations discussed
- To demonstrate the breadth of game management and better understand
the preceding topics a number of case studies on game management
will be examined. These will include examples from Africa, Australia,
Europe, New Zealand and North America and will cover examples of
species management as well as farming/ranching of game
Assessment will primarily be from a case study developed by the student
relevant to each student’s particular needs (e.g. species management,
property management) and ‘take home’ examinations based
on material covered in the course.
Anyone anywhere in Australia may apply as the course is offered by
correspondence. Places will be limited each year. Those interested
should contact Dr Peter Murray at peter.murray@uq.edu.au before
20 July 2007.
Game
Management application form
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