A licence to kill native animals has been labelled "red tape" by the Baird government and will be abolished, prompting warnings the move will declare "open season" on kangaroos, emus, wombats and cockatoos.

The Royal Zoological Society of NSW has warned that removing the licence will cause the neglect of three-quarters of protected fauna in NSW and "will almost certainly miss the species that are sliding towards threatened status".

The NSW Opposition claims wombats, kangaroos, emus, possums, wallabies, kookaburras and parrots will lose protection if the licensing system is dropped.

"These proposals declare open season on the killing of native animals across NSW," Labor's environment spokeswoman Penny Sharpe said.

"Those who seek to kill native wildlife will be able to do so with no oversight and little consequence".

"The approach suggested by the Baird government beggars belief; not only do they remove protections for killing native animals, they will also stop keeping records of how many are killed."

Harming a native animal during land clearing will also no longer be an offence if the property owner was unaware of the animal.

The government confirmed it intends to introduce the biodiversity legislation to NSW Parliament in October.

Extract from The Canberra Times - October 2, 2016 by Kristy Needham.