TAFE course allows students to shoot and get a licence to export, if they are game

Owner of Lismore-based Fair Game Wild Venison, Jonas Widjaja, welcomed the TAFE Digital course, saying it played an important role in supporting the emerging industry.

Fair Game Wild Venison owner Jonas Widjaja.

There’s a TAFE course for just about everything, but what about one which combines education, shooting and exporting overseas?

The Statement of Attainment in Game Harvester, offered through TAFE Digital, allows professional shooters from across Australia to gain accreditation to harvest wild game, a rapidly growing export and domestic market.

TAFE Digital is one of only a handful of training organisations nationwide, and the only one in NSW, to offer the course.

Owner of Lismore-based Fair Game Wild Venison, Jonas Widjaja, welcomed the TAFE Digital course, saying it played an important role in supporting the emerging industry.

“Game meat harvesters who are qualified to go out in the field and harvest for human consumption play an incredibly important role on many levels” he said.

“Wild deer are pests to the environment and a cost to landholders. Harvesters help reduce that and support a growing industry.

“People are starting to understand that meat which comes from wild animals ticks boxes when it comes to animal welfare, live transport, ethical dispatch and being chemical-free.”

Kangaroos, wild boars and venison are the mainstays of the industry, sold on the domestic and export market for both pet meat and human consumption.

One of many to complete the course is veteran shooter Michael Anderson, who has been running a wild game harvesting business in country Victoria for more than 25 years.

Mr Anderson said despite his extensive experience, the TAFE Digital course ensured he remained industry-compliant.

“There’s so much legislation now and it really helped me keep up to speed with that and ensure my business was compliant,” Mr Anderson said. “I’ve been shooting since I was a teenager but the legislation is always changing and you need to stay on top of it.”

The industry was dealt a bitter blow in 2009, when the lucrative Russian market suspended all Australian kangaroo meat exports for more than three years amid concerns about sanitation practices.