DROVER John Wilson is so fed up with red tape he is ready to load up the 360 head of cattle he has with him and return to NSW.
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He arrived in the south-west in late March to allow the cattle to graze on Moyne Shire roadsides.
But he said he has been given a list of roads by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) he is not allowed to enter, making it impossible for him to move the cattle.
"They've got me locked into the back of Caramut," Mr Wilson said.
"I can't move from where I am and there won't be a blade of grass left soon. At this stage of the game I'd prefer to see the cattle trucked home."
Moyne Shire councillor Daniel Meade said the council was doing everything it could to allow Mr Wilson to continue to drove in the district.
He said he was frustrated by the hurdles put up by both VicRoads and DELWP.
"As it stands now on Friday afternoon he's boxed in - he's got nowhere to go," Cr Meade said.
He said Moyne Shire residents were supportive of Mr Wilson for two reasons - to clear roadsides to prevent bushfires and offer assistance to the drought affected cattle.
"My fellow councillors have had residents ringing up and saying 'when the drover is finished there, send him over here'."
Mr Wilson said he was approached by DELWP officers while out on the road.
"They've decided the roads have special grasses on them," he said.
This came as news to Mr Wilson, who said he would never have ventured south if he knew this was the case.
"They came out here on Good Friday to tell me - I wished them a happy Easter and told them 'you've made mine unhappy'.
"If they had mentioned this before - that you might have to truck your cattle from A to B I wouldn't even be here - we might look silly, but we're not," Mr Wilson said.
"I've been on that many droving trips and I've never had anything like this. I've had enough."
A DELWP spokesman said Mr Wilson was provided with a list of roads that contain high and medium quality native grasslands and associated threatened species that are protected by the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and the Commonwealth Government's Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999.
"To drove these roadsides containing native grasslands, a permit under the FFG Act would be required," he said.
"DELWP acts in an advisory role to local government, who are the authority responsible for issuing droving permits. The permit holder was informed by the shire when the permit was issued to contact DELWP regarding roads containing native grassland that are protected under the FFG Act."
The spokesman said DELWP approached the drover to outline the obligations when it did not hear from the permit holder.
"Remnant native grasslands are not adapted to the impacts caused by grazing and the movement of heavy, hard-hoofed animals such as cattle," he said.
"Impacts cause significant degradation and permanent loss of native grasslands through direct impacts to plant species, soil disturbance, the addition of nutrients through faeces and consequential weed invasion."
The spokesman said droving also introduced weeds which competed with native species, increased biomass and, subsequently, fire risk.
"DELWP is not opposed to roadside grazing in areas of low to no biodiversity/native vegetation value."
Member for Western Victoria Beverley McArthur has written letters to VicRoads and DELWP imploring them to take a more sensible approach in relation to the issue.
She said she was concerned Mr Wilson had been directed to truck the cattle mere metres across VicRoads.
"This surely shouldn't be considered grazing," Ms McAarthur said.
"It's just moving stock."
Ms McArthur said common sense should prevail and a more reasonable approach should be forthcoming.
Moyne Shire Council's environment and regulatory services manager Robert Gibson said the council had issued a permit to allow droving on its roads and was working with VicRoads and DELWP to try and allow Mr Wilson access to their roads.
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