New electronic hunting maps have finally been officially released after consultation with hunting organisations including SSAA Victoria.
The new maps are an overlay for Victoria’s already popular More To Explore phone app, which is currently used by more than 20,000 people to navigate 3.9 million hectares of public land.
The app is Victoria’s first comprehensive electronic mapping system showing all public land available for hunters, as well as which species of both game animals and pests can be hunted in specific areas – with the maps also available for download to use offline or out of mobile range.
“One of the issues for hunters, especially the many new people who we see coming to hunting in Victoria, is knowing exactly where they can go,” said SSAA Victoria Hunting Development Manager David Laird.
“We worked with the Department through its Sustainable Hunting Action Plan to provide input into how the maps could work and we reckon they’ve come up OK.
“They are not perfect and we know there are some issues with private property and grazing lease areas. We encourage our members to let us know if they spot an issue by contacting me at the State Office (hunting.manager@ssaavic.com.au)
“But we do congratulate the Minister for Agriculture for showing her support for hunting in Victoria by announcing the maps.”
The app is regularly updated to reflect changes in land status and show road closures and also features an emergency location function for public land users’ safety.
The new electronic hunting maps are a key initiative under the Labor Government’s $5.3 million Sustainable Hunting Action Plan, which was adopted to support the game hunting industry’s long-term growth.
“The new maps are part of our commitment to make sure hunting is conducted in a safe, responsible and sustainable way right across the state,” said Minister for Agriculture Jaclyn Symes.
“The app will be a great tool to help hunters stay informed about their favourite hunting locations or explore new ones.”
In January, the Government provided $6 million to the Game Management Authority to boost its compliance and enforcement capabilities and improve communication and education about legal hunting in Victoria.
More To Explore is available from the iOS App Store and the Google Play store. For more information, visit the GMA website.