The answer Old Farang, is close to nine hundred thousand and close to the same number of Bovines right across northern OZ.. The whole BTEC (TB eradication) cost $960 million, but we are now one of very few world wide producers now with "Confirmed Freedom" status of TB and Bruscellosis as a result. Incidence of up to 28% infected status in many feral herds was the reason for the culling. Of course those numbers do not include the better than that which we successfully mustered of feral animals as well.(To help other guests understand those numbers, there are vast tracts of land in the Top End which are known as Vacant Crown Land, [aboriginal freehold lands and much of being lush coastal flood plains] where no active animal management is conducted. A total of 50% of the NT is as such. There is a lot of desert is mixed up in that, but that is where the feral camels are. Reputed to be in the hundreds of thousands and also another story only yet half told)
In the landline program you will see the underlying politics covered quite neatly by Kirsty.
Thanks Binghi, One thing that changed was the hours we did during the program. I did 18,000 charge hours in 13 years. (add nearly one in six for no charge -slightly more than the legal limit back then ha hah) Nowadays most people do it easy doing well less than the reverse number. At the peak HeliMuster was doing 23,000 hours per year with 23 machines and just 23 pilots, you're not kidding maintenance was hard work mostly done at night. I wouldn't like my kids to be doing what we did. The most intense short job was when four machines and twelve stock inspectors converged on a place known as Wagait up in the Top End where in four and one half days we shot just on 17,500 wild, highly infected Buffalo. Like Custer's last stand it was.
As Danny says in the program "It (the live export ban) was very badly handled", indeed; all of that effort an investment discarded blatantly by callous politics.
The Minister involved and government are being proceeded against. Round one is completed just a few days ago, hence the program being topical. Now we await for the judge to determine whether indeed he was guilty of misconduct, then round two - scheduled for December - will hopefully establish "Quantum". The last three Federal budgets have reserved around one billion dollars in case they have to fork out.
Wild at Heart: Top End buffaloes are in demand but catching them is a skill - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)