Wildlife Bytes 24/11/09

Wildlife Xmas Presents


Wildwood Wildlife Shelter in Victoria has a beautiful calendar for sale, with lots of kangaroos on it. They are selling them for $25 plus $6.95 postage each within Australia, extra for O/S of course. The addys are; Pam Turner, Wildwood Wildlife Shelter, Glenthompson. Vic. 3293 Email wildwoodws@optusnet.com.au 03 55774343, 0418 161 826 And please dont forget that Maryland Wilson from AWPC still has copies of "Kangaroos, Myths and Realities" for sale. Her email is; kangaroo@hotkey.net.au

And also dont forget the wonderful DVD "Kangaroos, Faces in the Mob" available here; http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroos-facesinthemob.htmlIf any wildlife group are selling Xmas cards etc, please let us know so we can pass it on.

Kangaroos

The NZ 60 minutes kangaroo story went to air on Monday 23 November, it can be viewed online here;
http://www.3news.co.nz/Bloody-Harvest-/tabid/371/articleID/130448/cat/923/Default.aspx The Producers have said they would like to get some Australian feedback....perhaps for a followup......so if you watch the Story, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page. The Japanese Whalers, and Russian and Chinese Embassies were advised about the story prior to it being shown, we hope they watched.

Here is very good article about livestock displacing wildlife by Geoff Russell. Geoff is a mathematician and computer programmer and is a member of Animal Liberation SA.http://bravenewclimate.com/2009/11/17/700-million-from-livestock/

Here is a NZ company that imports frozen kangaroo meat. Here's the web site: http://www.game-meats.co.nz/products

Meanshile in Nth Queensland a young girl has been mauled by a wallaby, and in Victoria, a dog chased a kangaroo into a farm dam, and then went into the water and was attacked by the defending kangaroo. The dogs owner was attacked when he tried to rescue the dog. Media have glossed over the attack, saying the dog and owner have survived, but no mention of how the kangaroo fared.

Farmonline Debate....Roos versus Cattle.

The MLA has also decided to wade into several other anti-red meat debates including the push, mainly by academics, to replace sheep and cattle with kangaroos. Putting aside the fact that kangaroos would be almost impossible to manage, MLA has estimated that 112 million roos would be needed to replace the eight million cattle now slaughtered in Australia each year.....Read more http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/finance/flannery-backs-farm-animals-in-fight-against-carbon/1681075.aspx?storypage=0

Whaling

A major review of Japanese government spending could spell the end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, according to Greenpeace, after the review committee proposed massive cuts in subsidies to a body which funds the so-called scientific research programme. The Spending Review Committee recommended that the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Fund (OFCF), which gives loans to the Institute for Cetacean Research (ICR) to run the discredited science programme, have all of its funding revoked, except monies needed for loans in 2010. The OFCF claims it needs 70.4 billion yen (around US$780 million) for various programmes almost certainly including whaling, in 2010. The Review Committee and Cabinet Office will have the final decision if the proposed operations for 2010 are actually "necessary" or should also be cut.If the loans for whaling are revoked it is unlikely the ICR can continue to operate. The news comes less than 24 hours before US President Barack Obama is due to arrive in Tokyo. Whaling was already on the agenda for discussions between the two heads of state.

Gillnet Seized

Just days after TRAFFIC wrote to the fledgling South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization (SPRFMO) to express alarm that Flag States are allowing deepwater gillnetting, Australia has revealed it confiscated a huge gillnet set illegally in Antarctic waters earlier this year. The net, or rather series of nets strung together, was confiscated in April at Banzare Bank in the south western Indian Ocean and measured a staggering 130 kilometres from end to end-roughly the same distance as the width of New Zealand's South Island-and set at a depth of 1.5 km.

Wildlife Trafficking

If it wiggles, you can get busted. That's what happened to Michael Plank of Lomita, CA. He was arrested at LAX earlier this week when Federal officials found 15 lizards strapped to his chest. The 40 year old Plank was returning from a trip to Australia, when U.S. Customs agents found two geckos, two monitor lizards and eleven skinks, another type of lizard, fastened to his body. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported that all Australian reptiles are strictly regulated and Plank did not have a permit for them. Plank has been released on $10,000 bond and will be arraigned in federal court on December 21. *Examiner

Hunting

A student has been killed in US by a hunter shooting in a National Park. Three students were an an assignment in the Park, when a hunter shot one of them dead, and injured another. He later said he thought they were deer. The students death is the 39th hunting fatality in Virginia since 1998 and the first of those that has involved a non-hunter, said Julia Dixon, a Game and Inland Fisheries spokeswoman. But it's not rare for hunters to mistake people for wildlife. In 17 of the 39 fatalities, the shooters said they fired at what they thought was an animal. *

Meanwhile, Two men have been fined for illegal pig hunting in a nature reserve near Lennox Head. The men were detected hunting pigs in the Ballina Nature Reserve with remote cameras that are used as part of a pig monitoring program. The National Parks and Wildlife Service says the pair have been fined for illegal hunting. Ranger Lisa Walker says such an act interferes with pig control programs, and does more harm than good. "They definitely are [hunting] and not only are they scaring the wildlife, but they're disrupting the trapping program which has been very successful," she said. "There's been 154 pigs trapped in the last 12 months in the Newrybar Swamp area. "So we really don't want people going in there and disrupting that program which has been so successful in co-operation with our reserve neighbours." *ABC

Lions

Eight British holidaymakers are suing a South African wildlife park after their open-sided vehicle overturned and became surrounded by lions. The holidaymakers are together seeking more than $1 million in damages from Sanbona Wildlife Reserve over the incident in March 2007, claiming the incident caused them lasting trauma. In legal documents, the holidaymakers — two of whom were on their honeymoon — claim the accident happened when a park employee tried to reverse too quickly up a hill. They claim the big cats quickly closed in on the stranded group, with one lion even making off with one of the tourist's boots. "The whole experience was terrifying and frightening … I'll do anything to make sure nobody like us has to go through that again," Michael Hawker, 71, told Britain's Times newspaper. * 9News

Rare Fly

A rare species of fly that has only been found south of the border until now was recorded for the first time in Scotland this summer. Naturalists carrying out a survey of insect life at National Trust for Scotland's Rockcliffe nature reserve near Dalbeattie on the Solway Firth have come across an unusual species of Soldier Fly - Chorisops tibialis - which is found occasionally in more Southerly areas of the UK. Chorisops tibialisis is a small, slender fly with a metallic green head and thorax. It is most commonly found in wetland areas. "This fly has been recorded a few times as far North as Cumbria before, but never in Scotland as far as we know," said the Trust nature conservation adviser Mr Lindsay Mackinlay. "It's a lovely insect not to mention an exciting find and we'll continue to keep an eye out for it in the future." *Wildlife Extra

Frogs

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 500 endangered Oregon spotted frogs have been released this fall at a lake on the Fort Lewis Army base near Tacoma. It's the second year that the tiny frogs have been released at Dailman Lake, which is part of the frogs' historic habitat. The frogs once ranged from southwestern British Columbia to northeastern California. But loss of habitat and nonnative predators decimated their numbers, and the state listed it as endangered in 1997. The frog now is only known to be in Washington's Klickitat and Thurston counties. The frogs spent their first nine months in captive rearing programs at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, Portland's Oregon Zoo, and the Cedar Creek Corrections Center near Olympia, where inmates helped raise them. *Seattle PI

Scaredy-cat tigers

Zoo-keepers in China say their tigers have grown so tame that they're frightened of the chickens they're supposed to eat. The Chongqing Wild Animal Park has five rare adult white tigers which were originally trained to perform tricks for visitors, reports the Chongqing Morning Post. Keepers have been trying to encourage them to follow their natural instincts by throwing them live chickens - but without success. Feeder Shi Ruqiang said: They're supposed to be wild and scary, but due to their soft lifestyles and human care they have gradually lost their wild nature. "I have been trying to interest them with live chickens but it was quite a funny scene. The tigers were so scared that they wouldn't go near them. "One chicken passed out and the tigers did eventually approach it - but then it woke up again and squawked and they ran for their lives!" Shi says the keepers are now forcing the tigers to stay outside their cages for at least 12 hours a day to toughen them up. And they are planning to introduce a wild tiger to show the domesticated big cats the ropes. "If all else fails, we will simply cut down their rations until they are so hungry that they are forced to hunt for themselves," he added. *Ananova

Echidnas

DNA analysis of the land-loving, spiny echidna has found it was once an amphibious platypus-like creature. The study by Australian evolutionary biologists shows the platypus and echidna diverged from the same ancestor between 19 and 48 million years ago. Their finding, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, contradicts the widely held view that monotremes, or egg-laying mammals, are "living fossils" that have not evolved. Monotremes are a unique group of animals made up of the echidna and the platypus. These animals lay eggs from which their young emerge, like a reptile, but are 'warm-blooded' and suckle their young, like a mammal.Read more here.... http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/09/22/2692080.htm?topic=

Rhinos

International scientists have launched an extensive programme to protect the Sabah rhino, together with the Malaysian government. The Sabah rhino population, a subspecies of the Sumatran rhino, has dropped to less than 50 individuals. In an attempt to save the species, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, working in collaboration with Zoo Leipzig, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), have started an extensive conservation programme to protect and breed these impressive mammals. *Wildlife Extra

Kangaroos

The Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Maxine Cooper, is conducting an investigation into Canberra Nature Park (nature reserves); the Molonglo River Corridor (nature reserves) and Googong Foreshores and is inviting public submissions. The Terms of Reference are available at: http://www.environmentcommissioner.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/168731/ocse_nature_reserves_terms_ref.pdf Submissions need to be lodged by close of business on Tuesday 22 December 2009. All submissions will be made public unless otherwise requested in writing. Please send your submission to: The Office of the Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment PO Box 356 Dickson ACT 2602 Or email: envcomm@act.gov.au

Ed Comment; This "investigation" will almost certainly produce a document that will support more kangaroo kills in the ACT area. However if the submissions are to be made public it may provide an opportunity to be critical of previous "investigations".

Dunnarts

A small Australian marsupial is taking a lesson from the reptile world and basking in the sun to conserve energy and improve its chances of survival, a researcher has found.The fat-tailed dunnart, one of Australia's smallest and most widespread marsupials, basks in the sun to reduce its need for food and water in the desert - a strategy traditionally associated with 'cold-blooded' animals. Dr Lisa Warnecke of the University of New England found that dunnarts bask to warm their body while arousing from torpor - a short hibernation that some mammals can go into for a few hours each day. The findings appear online in the Journal of Comparative Physiology B. Read more here.... http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/11/17/2742311.htm


Kangaroo Meat Contamination

The kangaroo meat industry's failure to adhere to hygiene regulations is placing public health at risk, a former senior food safety bureaucrat says. Dangerous levels of salmonella and E.coli have been found in kangaroo meat destined for human consumption, backing up claims by a former NSW chief food inspector, Desmond Sibraa, that the industry is failing to adhere to the Australian standard which determines the conditions under which the animals are harvested, transported and stored. 'There is a big difference between animals slaughtered in an abattoir with an inspector present, and a kangaroo shot in the bush with dust and blowflies,'' said Dr Sibraa, who was chairman of the food advisory committee which drafted the laws governing kangaroo harvesting more than 20 years ago. ''Some of these blokes don't know what they're doing.''

To rid meat of salmonella, the deep muscle must reach at least 60 degrees, Dr Sibraa said. But the tradition of serving kangaroo rare to avoid toughness meant it was unlikely to reach such a temperature. As well as poisoning from salmonella and E.coli, diners on kangaroo sourced from unhygienic environments also risked contracting toxoplasmosis, which can result in foetal death or birth defects in affected women. The contaminated meat samples were collected by the animal rights group Animal Liberation and were independently tested by Biotech Laboratories last month. In May the group's Sydney office was raided by NSW and Queensland police after accusations by the industry that activists had broken into chillers in northern NSW and southern Queensland and contaminated carcasses.

Animal Liberation's spokesman, Mark Pearson, denied the allegations and said all the chillers accessed were unlocked at the time the samples and video evidence were taken. Police said their investigations were continuing and no charges had been laid. Dr Sibraa said the video footage showed paws and necks touching dirty floors stained with old blood, and kangaroo carcasses crammed so close that it would be impossible for cool air to circulate adequately. Leaked memos and internal documents seen by the Herald also showed evidence that trucks were being ''loaded hot'', exposing the carcasses to temperatures above 25 degrees for extended periods. Chillers in remote areas regularly malfunctioned.

Last year Australia's biggest export market for kangaroo meat, to the Russian Federation, collapsed after a consignment was found to be contaminated with a bacteria the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service had no test in place to detect. The industry is wooing China as a replacement market for the 10,000 tonnes of kangaroo meat previously exported to Russia each year. An AQIS spokeswoman said reforms being implemented with state governments, included temperature-measuring equipment, monthly audits of the processing plants and microbiological testing improvements. The executive officer of the Kangaroo Industry Association of Australia, John Kelly, said the Russian market suspension was more to do with politics than meat safety, and that standards were being met at all processing plants, each of which had a permanent AQIS presence.

He said claims by activists should be handled with scepticism: ''Animal liberationists treat the truth with great disrespect in a cynical attempt to appeal to well meaning but poorly informed concerned members of the public.'' But an ecotoxicology expert, Dr David Obendorf, said the kangaroo meat industry had been covering up problems for years and public health would continue to be put at risk until the Government elevated the game meat laws to meet the same stringent standards which exist for beef, pork and poultry. ''Kangaroo meat is an important source of protein, but its economy has been let down by the industry's decision to turn what should have been a niche quality market into a bulk market,'' he said. "Because the meat must be cooked rare you only need a small amount of contamination at any of the critical control points along the chain and you have a problem. The low standards in the industry mean it's a problem begging to exist.'' *Sydney Moring Herald


MEDIA RELEASE, WILDLIFE GROUPS CALL FOR INQUIRY INTO KANGAROO KILLINGS Wildlife groups are calling for an inquiry into the slaughter of half a million kangaroos in Victoria by farmers since 1999. Landholders in Victoria are being given permits to kill tens of thousands of protected kangaroos every year, even in good seasons and in areas not affected by drought. This is despite research showing that kangaroos do not compete with stock for pasture. Kangaroos are also being shot without proper assessment of population numbers, locally or regionally, putting them at risk of local and regional extinction. In recent cases, local residents were devastated to discover that permits has been given to kill the equivalent of the total population of kangaroos in Colac, Gippsland, and Bendigo, causing a public outcry for the unjustified and brutal killing of protected native wildlife. Colac resident Carola Anstis and East Gippsland resident Valerie Hickey, recently had to stand by and watch as their local kangaroos were shot by local farmers. “Why permits to kill kangaroos in the Marlo area (East Gippsland) are being given, is beyond comprehension. The land here where sheep and cattle graze is in excellent condition, and unaffected by drought. Kangaroos are not abundant in this area, and pose no threat to stock pasture. The DSE and farmers have a long association, and I believe the DSE feels obliged to comply with farmers wishes. This issue could be addressed if DSE provided farmers with accurate facts about our wildlife and the current research about their positive co existence”, said Valerie Hickey.Carola Anstis is equally disturbed by the current situation and the destruction of kangaroos that live at her wildlife sanctuary. "With regard to my particular case, and recent permits to kill kangaroos on my neighbours property, no assessment was made of the property with regard to pasture improvement and carrying capacity to determine whether in fact there is direct competition for food. No assessment was made as to whether the kangaroos are on the property all day, part of the day or just passing through, and no means of control other than the limited suggestions for gates in fences were examined before the permit to cull was issued. I refer to Wildlife Act 1975 and remind DSE that Eastern Grey Kangaroos are a protected species", stated Mrs Anstis.

“The research is very clear, that kangaroos do not compete with sheep and cattle for food, yet state and federal governments continue to allow the slaughter of millions of kangaroos every year across Australia based on this myth. In fact research is showing that kangaroos are beneficial to the environment and can enhance farm production if allowed to graze with stock”, said Nikki Sutterby, Australian Society for Kangaroos. The RSPCA has also expressed concern for the slaughter of kangaroos by private landholders and reported the following in its “Survey of the Extent of Compliance with the Requirements of the Code of Practice for the Humane Shooting of Kangaroos”. (Prepared for Environment Australia by RSPCA Australia July 2002).

“The cruelty associated with non-commercial kangaroo killing is neglected by the authorities and control over the number of kangaroos killed and the methods used is ineffective”. “The consensus of opinion given by those associated with kangaroo management is that there is a far higher degree of inhumane killing of kangaroos in non-commercial killing” “There is no requirement for the license/permit holder to undertake any training in humane shooting or in firearms competency. In no state is there any system in place for monitoring the extent of cruelty associated with non-commercial shooting of kangaroos and it seems unlikely that any could be organised under the present method of damage mitigation”. (RSPCA Report 2002, http:/www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/publications/kangaroo-report/welfare.html#513) VALERIE HICKEY, 03 51548581/0427548581/41079007 CAROLA AND RON ANSTIS, CARLISLE RIVER WILDLIFE SANCTUARY, PH; 52350202, NIKKI SUTTERBY,CO-ORDINATOR, AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY FOR KANGAROOS, PO BOX 524 CASTLEMAINE VIC 3450, PH; 0417354408


Wildlife Trafficking

Thai police arrested two men on charges of smuggling African ivory into the country to supply shops that sell jewelry and trinkets, including to customers in the United States, authorities said Tuesday. Police said the arrests were the result of Thai efforts to more strictly enforce wildlife protection laws — amid concerns Thailand has become a hot spot for the illicit ivory trade that is growing in Asia. "Thailand has been criticized for neglecting wildlife trafficking," said Col. Seubsak Chavalviwat, deputy commander of the police's Natural Resources and Environment division. "We had to step up and get more strict on these crimes." Undercover officers purchased ivory from Samart Chokechoyma, 36, and Kanokwan Wongsaroj, 38, and DNA tests showed that it was of African origin, he said.

"We have evidence they were selling illegal ivory on the Internet to a customer in the United States," Seubsak said, without giving details. Conservationists say the trade in illegal ivory in Asia is growing with several countries reporting major seizures this year. In August, Thai authorities seized about two tons of African ivory worth an estimated $1.5 million at Bangkok's international airport. Three months earlier, Philippine authorities seized 3.5 tons of elephant tusks worth an estimated $2 million that had been transported to Manila from Tanzania, and in March, Vietnamese authorities seized 6.2 tons of higher quality African elephant tusks estimated to be worth more than $29 million at Hai Phong Port. *From AP


Timber Trafficking

Fish and Wildlife Service agents raided the Nashville factory of famed guitar maker Gibson on Tuesday, in apparent enforcement action under the expanded Lacey Act, the Nashville Tennesean reported. Officials were mum about possible seizures of imported hardwoods such as mahogany and rosewood that Gibson puts into its instruments, the newspaper reported. Congress last year amended the century-old Lacey Act, which had been used to halt international traffic in endangered animal species, to include trade in illegally-harvested logs and wood products. In a statement on its Web site, Gibson said it was fully cooperating with FWS. The company said it sources wood certified by the international Forest Stewardship Council, and “non-certified suppliers ensuring that all certified products meet FSC requirements.” The company said that Gibson chairman and chief executive Henry Juszkiewicz is a board member of the Rainforest Alliance, “and takes the issue of certification very seriously.” The Nashville newspaper noted that Gibson is an advocate for the use of sustainably-harvested woods in instrument manufacture. * JOC.com

Ed Comment, We have to wonder wether the authorities are so circumspect when it comes to inspecting the manufacturers of sporting rifles, which use exotic timbers such as rosewood, cocobolo, walnut and birdseye maple for rifle stocks.......


The Tipperary Animals

It's a curious tale of a hippopotamus, a pig hunter, a millionaire property developer, a red-faced government and now a game safari. The accidental shooting of a rare African species of pygmy hippo in the Northern Territory outback sparked peoples' imagination and raised the question: Whatever happened to the exotic animals of Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary? Despite urban legends, the fantasy of a mini African menagerie wandering freely in the Top End could not be further from the truth. About 300 of the animals, including herds of critically endangered African scimitar horned oryx and addax, were sold to a hunting safari in the Northern Territory. A small number of the more crowd-attracting animals were transferred to a zoo in far north Queensland. Sadly, it is believed the remainder of Tipperary's 2000 animals suffered the same fate as the pygmy hippo following two separate and yet equally intriguing legal battles.

Pig shooter Nico Courtney said he would not have shot the pygmy hippo had he known what it was. Mr Courtney, 27, was out spotlight hunting with mates on November 12 in the Douglas Daly region, some 200km south of Darwin, when he shot what he thought was a pig. "We got out and had a look at it and thought that's not a pig, it's a hippo. "Then we thought you don't get hippos in Australia." Warren Anderson, the millionaire property developer who built the NT parliament and established Tipperary Sanctuary in 1986, said the death of the hippo could be blamed solely on the territory government. "I built that property up into a wonderful sanctuary for animals, our breeding programs were good, I had good men working for me and it all collapsed in a heap," Mr Anderson said. "That Labor government up there destroyed that wildlife park and you can lay the blame for the predicament these animals are in squarely on their shoulders."

Mr Anderson was accused of animal neglect for failing to adequately feed two of his rhinoceroses in 2003 and was subsequently arrested at gunpoint by police, but was later exonerated. The territory government was forced to publicly apologise and pay Mr Anderson an undisclosed sum of money. Mr Anderson eventually tried to sell the animals and the property. Mareeba Wild Animal Park in Queensland was to take most of the animals. The deal hit difficulties when the Mareeba sanctuary was raided in March 2004 by the Australian Federal Police, investigators from the Queensland Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy and the RSPCA. The owner of Mareeba, David Gill, fled back to the UK, leaving the pending transfers in limbo. Australasian Regional Association of Zoological Parks and Aquaria (ARAZPA) at that time offered to relocate the animals caught up in the legal dispute.

A spokesman for ARAZPA said a small number of animals were later successfully transferred to Mareeba Wild Animal Park, which has since been sold and is today known as the Cairns Wildlife Park. However, the spokesman could not say definitively how many were transferred, nor did he know where the other animals from Tipperary Wildlife Sanctuary had been sent. "We have no animal inventory list for Tipperary because they were not a member of ARAZPA at the time," he said. "There was an array of wonderful animals there - whatever happened to them, I don't know. "When I left, the people who had bought the animals had not yet taken them off the property. "I don't know whether they collected them."

Kevin Gleeson, the owner of Mary River Australian Safaris, said he purchased about 300 of the animals from Mr Gill. "I saved those animals by buying them," he said. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the scimitar horned oryx is extinct in the wild and efforts are under way to reintroduce it. It is believed there are only a few thousand of them left in captivity around the world. Mr Gleeson said the scimitar horned oryx herd had doubled in size since being transferred to his property, about 300km south of Darwin, and that none had been taken as trophies to date. "I've got to be able to afford to feed and keep that animal, so sustainability is the key," he said. "If you want to help an animal species survive today you've got to give it a value. "I'm no different to the cattle farmers," he said, adding that he would offer surplus, non-breeding animals to hunters. "If you've got an endangered animal and you haven't got any management in place for that animal - then, yes, it is criminal to shoot it." It is understood the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory has expressed an interest in having the pygmy hippo preserved by a taxidermist for inclusion in its display. *News.com


Birds

Concerns have been raised about a dramatic decrease in endangered bird numbers in Tasmania. Experts say drought, wildfires and the spread of urban development have contributed to the decline in numbers of the 40-spotted pardelote and the swift parrot. Conservationist, Sally Bryant, says pardelote, or 40-spot, numbers in the state have dropped significantly over the last decade. "In areas like Dennes Hill on Bruny Island, where I can remember going down and being flooded by the sound of 40-spots, it's now very quiet, even though the bird is far more easily identifiable there than in some of the small colonies. "My first reaction and certainly what the statistics are showing is that the numbers are very low," Ms Bryant said. Conservationists want the Tasmanian Government to save the habitats of endangered bird species on Bruny Island.

Peter McGlone from the Conservation Trust says logging of the parrot's habitat should be stopped now, instead of waiting for the completion of industry codes of practice, which are being drafted. "We know that an area on Bruny Island has been logged just in recent months that has swift parrot habitat in it," he said. "There are other areas in the south of the state that may well be being logged right now, and [the Primary Industries Minister] David Llewellyn needs to be proactive and make sure those logging operaitons stop." Forestry Tasmania has rejected claims it is rushing to log endangered species habitats before the new guidelines come into force. The Forest Practices Authority has been working with major logging companies, including Forestry Tasmania, to draft guidelines to protect important wildlife habitats. Forestry Tasmania's Hans Drielsma denies his company is rushing to cut down trees before the draft is approved. "There's absolutely no basis to any suggestions like that," said Dr Drielsma. He says harvesting has been stopped in areas where birds are breeding. *ABC


Thinking about Wildlife? Who’s going to watch over our wildlife when you no longer share their World? Well, we are! The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will continue to forcefully lobby governments to do better with wildlife management, and by taking them to Court if necessary. We are currently working on developing eLearning projects, so students can become aware of the importance of our wildlife living in a safe and secure natural environment. After you have looked after your family and friends in your Will, think about wildlife. A bequest to the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. will ensure that we can continue to take a leading role in protecting and conserving our precious wildlife. None of the donations we receive are diverted to "administration". Every dollar we get through bequests or donations for wildlife hits the ground running! Talk to your solicitor, or if writing your own Will, add the words "I bequeath to The Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. for the purpose of protecting wildlife in Australia (a specified sum), or (specified items including land or vehicle), or (the residue of my estate) or (percentage of my estate) free of all duties, and the receipt of the President, Secretary or other authorised WPAA officer for the time being shall be a complete and sufficient discharge for the executor(s)." You can also phone me for a confidential chat, as to how a bequest can help us work to protect our wildlife, when you are no longer able to. * Pat O’Brien, WPAA 07 54941890


Kangaroos - Faces in the Mob! (We recently ran out od stock of this very popular magical DVD, but now have new supplies in! Buy Now! Buy Now!....before we run out again!)

On the east coast of Australia lies a valley of magical beauty, surrounded by mountains and shrouded in mists during winter. In these idyllic surroundings live a mob of wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos whose society is rich and complex. Faces in the mob is an engaging true story of life within this one mob of Australian wild Eastern Grey Kangaroos.

For two years, award-winning Australian filmmakers Dr. Jan Aldenhoven and Glen Carruthers lived with this mob. Hear their compelling account of the world of these captivating marsupials where each animal has its own personality. Buy the DVD now with Paypal...$29.95 Au includes free postage in Australia.

http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroos-facesinthemob.html

Follow the destinies of two lovable joeys - a female named Sunshade whose mother is conscientious and successful, and Jaffa, a little male full of pluck and courage whose mother is absent-minded. And witness everything from birth to the dramatic and sometimes deadly battles between adult males.

Never before has the richness and complexity of the kangaroo society and the daily drama of their family life been revealed in such stunning detail. Superbly photographed, this beautiful story of Australia's most famous animal will captivate you from beginning to end. This is the best documentary about our beloved kangaroos that has ever been produced. Profits from sales of the DVD go to help the Kangaroo Protection Coalition to campaign for the protection of our beautiful kangaroos.

Buy the DVD now with $34.95 Au Paypal for International postage delivery. http://www.kangaroo-protection-coalition.com/kangaroos-facesinthemob.html

This DVD would make a great "All Year Round" present