Keen rangers face on-the-job dangers

City of Busselton rangers say they are dealing with an increasingly wide variety of issues which can sometimes see them walking into dangerous situations.

The issues affecting rangers, both old and new, will be addressed at the inaugural WA Rangers Conference to be held in Bunbury this September.

These include dealing with fire and shark management, changes to laws, including implementing the new Cat Act, and dealing with clandestine drug laboratories.

Ten-year veteran Owen Anderton said the job scope for rangers had changed over the years, from enforcing local laws to a bigger emphasis on shark management after a spate of fatal shark attacks.

“(The beach closures) take a large chunk of our time and while on the whole people support these closures, some people just refuse to come in,” he said.

Rangers have also reported a rise in the number of drug labs they have encountered in recent years, often finding them while patrolling for other issues.

Simon Cann, who became a ranger 10 months ago, said the service found the labs when visiting homes for a dog-barking complaint, or a fire.

Other times rangers unearthed a lab while doing fire inspections of bushland.

Deborah Ambrose, who became a ranger after moving to Busselton from the Eastern States, said the danger while on the job was always in the back of their minds.

“We never know what’s going to be on the other side,” she said.

But Mrs Ambrose said it was the job’s variety and the ability to work and provide safety for the community that kept her keen.

“It doesn’t matter how big or small the job is, just last week we had to rescue a cat from a storm drain,” she said.