Launceston man shoots 350 kookaburras in in rural Tasmania, fined $5,000 for wrong firearm licence

A farmer who shot hundreds of iconic Aussie birds defended himself in court against the shooting, but it was what he was using to shoot them that landed him in hot water.

Neil Gordon Whirford, 60, faced the Supreme Court in Launceston, Tasmania on Monday and admitted he’d used an illegally modified semi-automatic rifle, which he didn’t have a licence for, to shoot 350 kookaburras in 2021.

The court heard from Mr Whirford that the kookaburras had bombarded his rural property and began disrupting natural wildlife following the 2020 Black Summer bushfires.

While Justice Robert Pearce agreed the property had been ‘invaded’, the fact that Mr Whirford held a Category A firearms licence instead of the correct Category C licence was why he was in trouble. 

Mr Whirford was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine within 28 days as punishment for the licencing error as well as for modification he had made on the rifle.

Kookaburras are not a protected species in Tasmania, unlike in many other states and territories.

This is because they are not a native species on the smaller island, only having been introduced in the early 1900s to control the snake population. 

Justice Robert Pearce agreed that the birds were culled legally, but said that Mr Whirford didn’t have the correct license to handle a semi-automatic rifle (pictured stock)

Over a nine month period, Mr Whirford took part in what he described as a culling of the pest species which had colonised his property since their habitat was destroyed by the fires. 

To assist in the cull, Mr Whirford also illegally purchased a silencer online and added to the rifle in 2021. 

Neighbours were thankful for the kookaburras being removed from the area, the court found no prior convictions in his record and Justice Pearce said he did not care about the culling. 

‘I’m advised that a cull is not unlawful … I’m dealing only with the firearms offences,’ Justice Pearce said.

Justice Pearce confirmed the rifle used was ‘suitable’ for pest control.

However Mr Whirford had knowingly possessed and used it without possessing the right licence, Justice Pearce told the court.

Mr Whirford had also illegally purchased a silencer online for the rifle (pictured stock)

The 2020 Black Summer bushfires caused mass migration for wildlife in the habitats, leading hundreds of Kookaburras to ‘invade’ Mr Whirford’s rural property

Mr Whitford had owned the rifle prior to 1996 when the gun laws changed after the Port Arthur mass shooting but disassembled it as opposed to trading it in during the government buy-back programs.

He started using it again for pest control in 2021 without updating the category A licence he had held since disassembling it. 

Though Justice Pearce was ‘satisfied the rifle was used appropriately’, he was concerned that the weapon could be used inappropriately in the wrong hands.

Tasmanians are not fond of kookaburras with even animal rights groups calling for the birds to be culled to protect native species.   

These groups have included the Greens, who called for a cull in 2020 following reports the they were aggressive towards smaller birds. 

The idea was ultimately rejected by the Gutwein Liberal state government.

Kookaburras are not native to Tasmania but were instead introduced to help control snake overpopulation in the early 1900’s

Though the Greens campaigned for a Kookaburra-cull in 2020 to protect native species, the Gutwein state government did not support it