Managing the Unmanageable - the New Australian Pastoralism

Author David Pollock is a practitioner and thought leader in Australian pastoralism, an activity that now dominates landscapes across the continent, particularly the semi-arid rangelands of the centre.

David co-owns and manages Wooleen Station in the West Australian rangelands, where the degradation of soils and plants from grazing activities is well documented. He illustrates this is not simply a matter of over-grazing or a failure to rotate stock appropriately, in line with established agricultural wisdom – there is significant competition from feral exotic species and over-abundant native species, such as kangaroos, for scant resources, and these cannot simply be “fenced out.”

David makes a courageous case for restoring ecological balance in the Australian farming community – the reintroduction of a familiar and controversial apex predator.

Produced for the Royal Societies of Australia 2021 Stewardship of Country symposium with the support of Inspiring Victoria and the Royal Society of Victoria. Full webinar proceedings can be viewed at https://fb.watch/4A-4z8_i2u/.