NSW opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley believes opening up national parks to amateur hunters is bad policy.
RANGERS should wear high visibility clothing to avoid being shot once hunting is allowed in NSW national parks, a leaked state government document says.
The document, obtained by the state opposition, also says a "zoning system" to separate hunters from other park users is being considered, which would dramatically reduce public access in some areas.
The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage document said amateur hunters would have unsupervised access to more than half the land covered by national parks in NSW, opposition environment spokesman Luke Foley said yesterday.
It identified a medium risk that serious injury would occur under laws allowing recreational hunters to shoot feral animals in some parks, downgrading an earlier draft assessment that identified a "high risk" of a bullet or arrow causing death or serious injury.
Mr Foley said the plan to open up 63 per cent of national park land to amateur hunters was bad policy.
"Shooters will be left unsupervised in a grossly irresponsible act by the government," he said.
Mr Foley said the most recent draft risk assessment revealed that park rangers would be forced to wear high visibility gear to reduce the risk of being shot at work.
The document also advised a system of zoning to physically separate park users and hunters as a safety measure.
It estimated that zoning would cut the number of visitors in areas where hunting would take place from five million to no more than 100,000.
Mr Foley said the draft assessment showed that rotting animals near campsites would deter visitors and carcasses would be left to fester in water, possibly contaminating streams.
He also said that hunters leaving litter in national parks would add to the risk of bushfires.