Animal land rights, Farmers brace yourselves.

Cartoon; by Nicholson.

There are various ways that property rights are destroyed in this country. There is resumption where the property owner is forced to sell to the government. This is usually at what is called a fair price, but the fairness is according to the government’s definition. Some states are prepared to use this power to assist mining companies get access.

More common is the removal of sections of property rights by means of vegetation clearing laws, and other legislative processes which prevent the owner from developing his land or using water for irrigation and so on. Most of us are aware of the gross injustice done to Peter Spencer and hosts of others by the blanket bans on clearing carried out under the Kyoto Protocol.

Now Australian research lecturer Dr John Hadley from the University of Western Sydney (UWS) is calling for a system of land rights to be established for animals. This on the face of it is a patently ridiculous idea, but given that the Gillard government is desperately clinging to power with the assistance of independents and the Greens, nothing along these lines should be ignored.

Bob Brown is after all, the man behind the curtain pulling the levers.

This is an issue designed to appeal to the furry critter instinctive reflex of urban people many of whom are indoctrinated into believing that uncaring landholders are intent on wiping out all native wildlife in order to push this cause. Few of these people are aware of the realities of life outside the city limits.

Hadley said under his proposal, particular animals would be given legal property rights, and human guardians would be appointed to represent them in court, claiming giving animals legal ownership of their habitat might be the key to protecting biodiversity. He said people who wanted to modify habitat on their property would have to negotiate with guardians through an independent tribunal before taking any action.

Essentially, this means that any land management decision a landholder makes in the future if this were enacted would have to be approved by some radical green or animal rights activist. These are people who live in their own insular little world where nothing other than ideology and preconceived ideas are allowed to enter.

This could be one of the most insidious attacks on rural industry yet.

It is easy to shake your heads, maybe laugh at the stupidity of such an idea, but if you take the time to look at the track records of the two major parties there is reason for concern. Labor is in the pocket of the radical Greens, the Liberals will sell their grandmothers grave to get preferences (which never happens, but they are slow learners).

Nothing under the sun or moon is too bloody stupid to ignore.