Wildlfie Bytes 5/01/2010

Charities Act Review

In the wake of couple of instances of shonky charity organisation mismanagement, the Federal government is currently undertaking an inquiry into charitable organisations and incorporations. As yet noone knows what changes will be made, but like death and taxes, changes are certainly coming. These changes are sure to make running a small incorporated organisation even more onerous. Many groups already find it difficult to get executive members to take on roles such as Treasurer, and many find it even more difficult to find funding for compulsory audits etc. It's going to get worse, we suspect. It's always been mystery to us why any small community-based incorporated organisation with under a $100,000 turnover has to follow virtually the same Rules as a multimillion dollar organisation like a large RSL club, which is often just a defacto gambling den. We suggest that the government will probably throw out the baby with the bathwater, as it usually does, so if your organisation is having trouble keeping up with the charitable reporting requirements now, it can only get worse. We suggest that you keep up to date with all receipt keeping, and tighten up your processes now so that you minimise any extra onerous activities the Feds may demand. *WPAA

Whaling

There is mounting pressure on the Federal Government to take legal action against Japanese whalers. The Federal Opposition is giving the Government until the end of January to submit documents for a case against Japanese whalers in the international court. Opposition spokesman Greg Hunt has written to Environment Minister Peter Garrett expressing "extreme frustration and disappointment" over the Government's failure to send a ship to monitor whaling activities in the Southern Ocean. Mr Hunt says the Government pledged to take legal action three years ago. "We want the whaling stopped, and if the Government will not send a ship then they must submit court action papers and give Japan until June 30 to end whaling," he said. Mr Hunt says the Japanese Government has abandoned the pretext for scientific whaling, and is slaughtering whales for food. *ABC

Ed Comment; We note the Howard Government was pretty ineffective in stopping whaling in the Southern Ocean either........

Hunting in NSW

Authorities want public help to learn who has shot 150 brumbies, including a number of foals, in the past 18 months in southern New South Wales. Ten brumbies were shot in state forests near Tumbarumba last weekend with what appeared to be a high-powered rifle. Forests New South Wales says the horses were shot in the body several times, sometimes at close range. Planning manager Kevin Peddy says officers have been shocked by the inhumane nature of the shootings. "In this latest round, it appears that a domestic palomino mare who had escaped from a nearby property had also been shot." he said. "Also included were some foals, so it is quite upsetting and the fact that they're being shot in a sort of appalling way doesn't make it any better." * ABC

Ed Comment; Hunting is legal in most NSW State Forests, but when something like this becomes public, the authorities get offended. We have to wonder how many of these incidents never come to light?

Magpie Geese Hunting

The shooting season for NT ducks and geese ended on the 31st December. More than 30,000 magpie geese and about 2000 ducks are believed to have been shot by 1850 hunters during the four-month season. There about two million geese in the NT, the Government claims. The Natural Resources Department said hunters now had to lodge their permit returns on how many birds were shot. The Government claims a "sustainable harvest" limit was between 10 and 14 per cent of the goose population. *WPAA

Traveston Dam

Only 30 people from 494 properties acquired for the failed $1.8 billion Traveston Dam have so far expressed interest in buying back. While bought-out owners have until May 31 to let the State Government know they want to buy back at the same prices at which they sold, anti-dam campaigners testing the waters say hardly anyone will. This means the Government will have to put hundreds of properties near Gympie on the open market to recoup some of the more than $500 million spent buying about 80 per cent of land within the proposed dam footprint. Treasurer Andrew Fraser has already said about $265 million of Queensland Water Infrastructure's dam costs would be "non-recoverable". *Courier Mail

Hunting Wolves

Sweden is to launch its first wolf cull in 45 years following a decision by the country's parliament to control the species' numbers. Around 10,000 hunters are reported to be planning to take part, hoping to get a rare opportunity to bag a wolf. But it is thought there are only between 180 and 220 wolves in Sweden and the Environmental Protection Agency says only 27 can be shot. Hunters insist there are measures to prevent them shooting too many. The hunt will end before the mating season begins in mid-February. *BBC

Albatross

These photographs of albatross chicks oon this website below were taken on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. See photos here.......
http://www.chrisjordan.com/current_set2.php?id=11To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, none of the plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the untouched stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent. *Network Item

Tassie Devils

A team of international scientists has made a major breakthrough in the fight to save tasmanian devils from extinction. The team says it has worked out exactly what kind of cancer is killing the animals, finding that the deadly facial tumour disease is growing in the devils' nerve cells. Until now, the contagious cancer has been as mysterious as it is deadly. The scientists have published their findings in today's edition of the journal Science. *

Dingoes

The Fraser Island Association says part of the Eurong dingo fence has been breached and the animals could come into the island township. Association's president David Anderson, who lives in Eurong, says a dingo grid has been filled with sand for two months. He says the breach has allowed a domestic cattle dog that was illegally brought onto the island to escape into the surrounding area. "There's potential for dingos to walk inside the perimeter by walking across the grid, stepping over the wires that are electrified and getting into the compound," Mr Anderson said. "It's demonstrated by the fact that this cattle dog got loose from a house inside the fence and was able to walk across the grid into the outside." The Parks and Wildlife service says the electrified grid is still a deterrent to dingoes and there have been no recent confirmed reports of dingoes inside the fence. Regional manager Rob Allan says rangers are aware of the escaped cattle dog. *ABC

Sharks

Three endangered speartooth sharks have made their home at the Melbourne Aquarium. It is the only collection of the freshwater sharks in an aquarium anywhere in the world. They have been joined by a trio of freshwater sawfish. The Aquarium's curator, Nick Kirby, says both species are extremely scarce in the wild. "The animals are found in remote areas, it's really warm, your water temperatures are 30 degrees [Celsius], maybe even higher, so they really are an unusual place to find animals and most people are not aware that they are seen," he said. *ABC

Ed Comment; There are no Management Plans in place for rare fish taken from locations around the World specifically for the aquarium trade. Aquariums are noted for high fish mortality, it may be these animals would be better off left in the wild.

Dolphins

Dolphins have been declared the world’s second most intelligent creatures after humans, with scientists suggesting they are so bright that they should be treated as “non-human persons”. Studies into dolphin behaviour have highlighted how similar their communications are to those of humans and that they are brighter than chimpanzees. These have been backed up by anatomical research showing that dolphin brains have many key features associated with high intelligence. The researchers argue that their work shows it is morally unacceptable to keep such intelligent animals in amusement parks or to kill them for food or by accident when fishing. Some 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in this way each year. *Times on Line

Kangaroo Meat

David Oldfield, former adviser to Pauline Hanson turned 2GB radio host, was nearly sidelined from his first day in the chair as host of the 2GB drive shift yesterday after making himself a breakfast fit for a king - a king cavalier that is. Oldfield has been moved from nights to the drive shift at 2GB over summer and, excited at the prospect of enjoying a higher profile, he yesterday decided he would make himself a hearty breakfast to kick start his first day in the chair - rissoles on toast. But the rissoles he pulled from the freezer were not your regular minced beef and onion variety and were certainly not intended for humans. His wife Lisa had put them aside for the couple's cross-dressing jack russells Dinky and Lulu. So, although free of heartworm for the next month, Oldfield reckons he may never acquire a taste for the Allwormer stuffed kangaroo meatball and was crook as a dog before struggling into the station yesterday. *ABC

Kangaroos

A kangaroo has been left to fend for itself in the wild after its mother was euthanased after another crossbow attack in Mandurah. The attack brings to 5 the number of kangaroos shot in the past two weeks, with three put down. The RSPCA has launched a hunt for those responsible and are appealing for help from the public. RSPCA inspectors tracked the kangaroo at the Parklands locality in Mandurah yesterday morning after it was spotted on Tuesday night with a pink crossbow bolt lodged deep in its hind quarters. The animals's hindquarters were badly infected and riddled with maggots, meaning that it was shot a few days ago. It also showed signs of secondary infection. "It must have been in awful pain,' RSPCA inspector Richard Barry said. 'Our inspector was forced to euthanise the animal on humanitarian grounds. He said that as the inspectors were preparing to shoot the kangaroo, a small joey emerged from its pouch. Mr Barry said the joey was released when it was determined that it could fend for itself. RSPCA inspectors spotted two other kangaroos with arrows in them. Last week Mandurah rangers were forced to euthanaise two kangaroos that had been shot with arrows. Both animals' wounds were badly infected. People with information should call the RSPCA on 9209 9300 or Crime stoppers on 1800 333 000. WA News


Duck Shooting

Victoria's duck hunting season will be cut by two weeks again in 2010 but hunters will be able to increase their hauls by three to five ducks per bag. Acting Minister for Environment and Climate Change Tim Holding said the compromise struck a balance between ensuring sustainable duck numbers and the interests of hunters. The season will run from March 20 to May 30, two weeks shorter than normal. Mr Holding says population data collected across eastern Australia indicated duck numbers had increased since the last duck season. "On balance the Government is convinced that hunting will not adversely affect populations of ducks at the levels allowed for the 2010 season," he said.

However, anti-duck shooting protesters said native waterbirds were under extreme stress. "With wetlands drying and waterbird numbers down by 82 per cent since 1983, Premier Brumby is acting like a climate change sceptic who lacks the vision to understand the serious plight native waterbirds face," Coalition Against Duck Shooting director Laurie Levy said. "Calling another season simply for political reasons to accommodate a small number of duck shooters is corruption and must be investigated by a crime commission."

The RSPCA also joined the call to ban the duck shooting season. RSPCA Victoria President Dr Hugh Wirth said the decision to go ahead with a duck shooting season was "irresponsible and displays a blatant disregard for the welfare of Australian wildlife". "It is no secret that thousands of ducks are wounded horrifically each and every season and die a slow and painful death," he said. He said 87 per cent of the community supports a ban, but the community's voice had fallen on deaf ears. One group that did welcome the announcement was Field and Game Australia which said the prospects for a good season had been enhanced by major floods in northern Australia over the past 18 months. FGA chief executive Rod Drew said ducks were well protected with hunters only having access to about one per cent of Victoria's 20,000 wetlands and 355,000 farm dams. He said waterfowl hunters provided a boost to Victoria's regional economy with thousands travelling to rural areas. *Herald Sun


No reprieve for Native Waterbirds, Premier John Brumby – just another climate change sceptic

The Coalition Against Duck Shooting today slammed the Victorian Brumby Government for selling out Australia’s native waterbirds by calling a recreational duck shooting season for political reasons. The Coalition Against Duck Shooting’s Campaign Director, Laurie Levy, today said: "The Brumby Government’s decision to allow a duck shooting season in 2010 is totally irresponsible and a betrayal of the 87% of Victorians who want the recreational shooting of native waterbirds banned. "At a time when Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has been in Copenhagen seeking an agreement on serious climate change issues, Premier Brumby seems oblivious to the potential crisis and has irresponsibly called another duck shooting season when native waterbirds are under extreme stress." "With wetlands drying and waterbird numbers down by 82% since 1983, Premier Brumby is acting like a climate change sceptic who lacks the vision to understand the serious plight native waterbirds face," said Levy.

"It is difficult to understand how a modern Victorian Labor Government in the 21st century can still have the same destructive policies towards Australia’s native waterbirds as the Bolte Liberal Government of the 1950s and 60s. Times have changed, with the recreational shooting of native waterbirds banned by three State Labor Premiers in WA, NSW and Queensland," Levy said. "As the Brumby Government has again made a political decision to look after their duck shooting mates, the Coalition Against Duck Shooting fully supports Ted Baillieu’s call for an independent Crime Commission to be established in Victoria. "Calling another season simply for political reasons to accommodate a small number of duck shooters is corruption and must be investigated by a Crime Commission. It defies all the scientific evidence that indicates waterbird numbers have seriously declined, and the fact that most Victorians want native waterbirds protected (87% according to a recent Morgan Research Poll). "Once again the Coalition Against Duck Shooting’s rescue team will return to the wetlands to protect Australia’s native waterbirds from recreational shooters," Levy concluded. For further information contact: Laurie Levy, Campaign Director, 0418 392 826


Fraser Island

Wildlife authorities fear an escaped cattle dog could spread a potentially deadly disease through Fraser Island's dingo population. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) says the cattle dog has not been sighted since escaping on Saturday from its home in Eurong, on the south of the island. Regional manager Rob Allan told AAP the escapee had been brought to the township illegally because domestic dogs are banned from the World Heritage-listed island. The QPWS said it was not searching for the dog because it could be anywhere. The Fraser Island Association says that in order to escape the dog would have had to breach a dingo fence surrounding the township. The association's president David Anderson said the fence was supposed to be electrified, but was ineffectual because it had been covered in sand for two months.

"The concern is, domestic animals can carry diseases and transmit them to dingoes that they come in contact with and the dingoes don't necessarily have immunity or resistance," Mr Anderson told AAP. "Potentially it is an ecological disaster. "It could wipe out or at least decimate the population of dingoes if there was a disease the dog was carrying." In the late 1970s, parvovirus spread by domestic dogs had a devastating impact on the island's dingo population. The virus can kill dogs and dingoes through gastrointestinal tract damage and dehydration. *9News


Wildlife Trafficking

A NT person has been busted for allegedly illegally posting two live snakes by air freight. Parks and Wildlife Service officers seized the exotic jungle carpet pythons - which were bound for Sydney - at Darwin airport yesterday. The non-venomous animals, which are valued at about $500 each, measured between 50cm and 1m long. They are generally found in the Queensland rainforest. Parks and Wildlife officers were informed about the allegedly illegal shipment about 2pm yesterday. They immediately seized the two animals. Senior ranger Peter Phillips said the snakes were posted in a labelled box - but failed to include proper permits. He said Parks and Wildlife were now investigating whether the offencewas deliberate.

"It's important that people understand that wildlife is protected under law and when exporting and importing protected wildlife is done illegally, people are in for a large fine and possibly imprisonment," Mr Phillips said. "All native animals in the Northern Territory are protected and you need a permit to export or import them." If found guilty, the sender could find himself in prison. Darwin reptile handler Chris Peberdy hailed the efforts of the officers yesterday. He said: "Parks and Wildlife should be commended of their actions as non-native reptiles entering the Territory without the proper permits and checks can pose potential bio-security risks to our local flora and fauna." *NT News


Pythons

A Cooktown family watched in horror as a python living in their backyard ate a young wallaby while its mum kicked and scratched the snake in vain to save the joey. The 4m scrub python ambushed a group of wallabies about 4.30pm on Monday while the Barton-Ilic family watched from their veranda. In less than 45 minutes, the wallaby had been suffocated and swallowed. The python quickly retreated to a hole on the property where the family lives. Snake handlers have covered the serpent’s den with rocks and will attempt to remove it. Judith Barton-Ilic felt like she was watching Animal Planet with her kids Braidyn, 13, and Tiarn, 10, when the action unfolded.

"The poor mother was trying to stop the snake from eating its baby and was jumping on it," she said. "Our cats would just be a snack and because it was a decent size wallaby, I’m incredibly worried for my kids. "We felt like we were watching Animal Planet live because the veranda is only about 10 foot off the ground." Last year The Cairns Post reported several cases of pythons caught eating wallabies. A 5m python was filmed eating a wallaby on the banks of the Barron River in February. And in November, a 4m snake was seen tucking into a 1m tall wallaby at Mooroobool. * Cairns Post


Snakes

A Chinese man who nursed a dying snake back to health claims it saved his family by raising the alarm when their house was on fire. Yu Feng, of Fushun, in Liaoning province, found the dying black snake outside his home, reports the Liaosheng Evening Post. "I treated it with herbal medicines, and in 20 days it recovered," he said. He took the snake to a nearby mountain more than a mile away to release it back into the wild - but the next morning it was back at his house. "I then set it free another two times, but it always came back," Yu added. "People around me said the snake had come back to repay my kindness, so I kept it." He named the snake Long Long and adopted it as a pet - then one night, he claims it saved the whole family.

Yu explained: "I was asleep when suddenly I felt something cold on my face. I opened my eyes and it was Long Long. "He had never woken me up before but I was so sleepy I went back to sleep. But Long Long grabbed my clothes with his teeth and whipped the bed with his tail. "Then he went to my mother's bed and whipped her bed with his tail. I woke up then and smelt something burning, and saw my mother's electric blanket was on fire so I leapt up and turned it off." Local reptile experts say snakes don't have the intelligence to act in this way - but Yu believes Long Long acted out of kindness, to repay Feng for saving his own life. *Ananova


Spiders on the Move

They are heavily armed and efficient predators _ and they're on the move. Weeks of hot, dry weather followed by recent rain has brought creepy crawlies out to invade backyards, laundries and pools in Sydney and regional centres. The conditions, and factors such as urban development and lots of pollen, has snakes, spiders, stinging caterdhpillars, bees, paper wasps and other bities looking for food or a mate. The Australian Reptile Park collection of funnel web spiders, which until a few weeks ago was down to a handful, is now teeming with specimens brought in by the public. The park at Somersby on the state's Central Coast is the only zoo in the world to milk funnel webs and is sole supplier of snake venom to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories.

While snakes are bred on site or come from other zoos, the park's funnel web milking program relies on spiders caught in backyard pools, behind sheds or in other crannies. Since its inception 60 years ago, antivenene produced from the park's snakes and spiders has saved an estimated 30,000 lives in Australia and in Papua New Guinea. ``We had a really cold October, comparatively, and now we've had a long spell of very warm weather combined with rain,'' park manager Mary Rayner said. `So this is a crucial time for parents with young kids especially with the school holidays to watch out. People should always shake their shoes, never leave washing on the ground or out overnight and really be careful around laundries and other dark, damp places.'' Funnel webs are most active in the breeding season, typically February and late summer but if conditions are right _ like those in Sydney and regional centres right now _ males will be on the prowl for a mate.

And that can be very bad news for people who are also drawn out into their gardens by the summer weather. Reptile experts also believe hot weather and earthworks for housing estates and development across Sydney's sprawling north and southwest has also contributed to snakes showing up in people's backyards. Ms Rayner said several species such as red-bellied black snakes and brown snakes had adapted well to suburban environments where landscaped rockeries, wood piles and other ``human influence'' provided excellent habitat. *Daily Telegraph


No Water for Wildlife

Malnourished and desperate wild animals continue to flock to Warriedar homestead, 60km south of Paynes Find, drawn by the empty promise of water. Instead, all they found yesterday was death. A feral goat and its kid, its ribs sticking out, huddled in a patch of shade near a rusted tap on the side of the old house. But the water they expected to find there will never run again. Inside, the corpses of five goats splayed across the floors of dilapidated bedrooms and bathrooms rot in the stinking summer heat. Once a home, the house has become a ramshackle weatherboard and corrugated iron tomb, a place of death thick with thousands of buzzing flies.At Warriedar homestead, the water has gone but its siren call still draws animals to their deaths.

Three years ago, the Department of Environment and Conservation took control of the 100,000ha property with the intention of returning it to its natural state. As part of the process, its water sources, bores which had run for 100 years, were gradually plugged. The fate of animals in the region caught off-guard by the sudden disappearance of the water was sealed with the last of the wells. The house, abandoned by the last lot of tenants six months ago, was the final water source. Inside its rubbish-strewn rooms, five dehydrated goats made their final stand. Too weak to find more water and seeking what little shelter they could from the deadly heat, they lay slowly dying until bullets ended their suffering. And it isn't just the remains of goats that dot the grounds. The sun-bleached bones of an emu, picked clean and broken by some scavenger, sit in the dust near the rusting hulks of trucks, tractors and car bodies.Around the dry water troughs and skeletal dying trees, a small graveyard's worth of rib cages, skulls and vertebrae hide in the long grass.

The DEC's intentions aside, there is little that is natural about the homestead today. The signs of promise gone sour and broken dreams cover the grounds, the sense of isolation and desolation almost palpable. Headless windmills, now silent and still, totter over bone dry soil carpeted with discarded children's toys and broken glass. Loose corrugated iron roofing flaps in the wind and echoes in cavernous rooms filled with overturned furniture. Fresh dung piled inside shows other desperate creatures had searched there for salvation and left wanting. Bullets may have mercifully killed the goats in the house but the hands that turned off the dusty taps and sealed the wells tormented them first. *WA News

Ed Comment; Its not as though these idiots in DEC were not warned...there was lots of concern expressed in the media about the loss of water for native and other wild animals before they shut off the bores......and this was not the only property affected. WA DEC used to be called CALM, but they changed the name because it had a very bad reputation....but they didnt change the idiots who run it.


Frogs

in a bizarre upset of the food chain a green frog devoured a brown tree snake for dinner on Sunday night. For North Mackay resident Ian Hamilton, who is accustomed to seeing snakes swallow frogs, the sight of the predator being turned into prey near his home was almost unbelievable. “We have seen snakes eating frogs here but not the other way around,” Mr Hamilton said. “We have actually saved frogs a couple of times because they make quite a noise when the snakes are getting them. “But don’t ask me how on earth that frog swallowed that snake.” Mr Hamilton said the hungry frog took at least 15 minutes to swallow the snake in its entirety. Meanwhile, other frogs sat watching their adventurous friend gobble up his scaly dinner. Rowan Pert, of Pert, Perry and Evans Veterinary Surgeons, said the snake appeared to be a brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis.

“They are usually found in suburbia and are also known as night tigers,” Mr Pert said. “That type of snake usually eats birds. “But in the food chain anything can happen as long as you are bigger than the bloke you are eating,” he said. “It is just a measure of what can happen out there in the wild.” Northern Beaches veterinary surgeon David Lemmon said he had heard of frogs eating snakes before but it was a very unusual occurrence. “I have heard of this happening before but frogs are more insect eaters,” Mr Lemmon said. He said brown tree snakes would generally attack rodents or birds but would normally steer clear of frogs. The rear-fanged snakes are relatively harmless. *Daily Mercury


Tarantulas

Tarantula lovers be warned: if you are going to get up close and personal with your hairy eight-legged friend, do it from the other side of an aquarium pane or wearing a pair of glasses. That's a lesson that a 29-year-old man from Leeds in Britain learned the hard way, the British medical journal The Lancet has reported. In February of 2009, the man turned up at St James's University Hospital in Leeds after three weeks of stinging pain in one eye, which had become red, watery and light-sensitive. Doctors prescribed antibiotics, assuming he was afflicted with a particularly stubborn case of conjunctivitis, but the treatment did not relieve the symptoms. When they re-examined the patient with high-magnification lenses, doctors spotted ultra-thin, hair-like projections sticking into the cornea. They were so small that even microforceps could not remove them.

That's when the man recalled a close encounter with his pet spider shortly before his eye first became irritated. While cleaning a stubborn stain on the glass tank that was home to his chilean rose tarantula, he turned his head to find the fist-sized arachnid very nearby. The spider released a "mist of hairs" which hit his eye and face, according the journal. Treatment with topical steroids largely cleared his symptoms, but as late as August he continued to complain of mild discomfort. "As a defence mechanism against potential predators, the tarantula will rub its hind legs against its abdomen to dislodge" special hairs from the back of its body, the study explained. "Multiple barbs allow the hairs to migrate through ocular tissue as well as other surfaces." Moral of the story? "We suggest that tarantula keepers be advised to routinely wear eye protection when handling these animals," it concluded. *AFP


Cane Toads

A group fighting to keep cane toads out of Western Australia's Kimberley says it is being stopped from using carbon dioxide to gas the pests because bureaucrats have told them it is too cruel. Kimberley Toad Busters has labelled the Department of Environment and Conservation's (DEC) refusal to sanction the use of carbon dioxide to kill cane toads as "ridiculous". Environment Minister Donna Farragher recently overrode her department and allowed the temporary use of carbon dioxide to euthanise the toads, but the DEC says it is inhumane and will not support it until further tests are done. Now Toad Busters is stepping up its campaign to allow the permanent use of carbon dioxide, a method already used across the border in the Northern Territory.

Toad Busters spokeswoman Lee Scott-Virtue says if gassing is ruled out that only leaves freezing or blunt trauma to kill the toads. "It's ridiculous to suggest the method of CO2 is inhumane. The toads may very well suffocate in the end in the bags, but they are unconscious," she said. "The thing that worries me the most is that family groups are definitely not going to want to become involved if we have to bludgeon toads to death. "I suspect that it will take a lot of the community energy out of the cane toad fight if this ridiculous edict goes ahead." Meanwhile the group has secured more than $300,000 in government funding to support its fight against the toads. *ABC


Seals

An animal welfare advocate has called for a crackdown on people who interfere with sea animals after a baby seal was harassed to death by "well-intentioned" beachgoers. The 7kg New Zealand fur seal pup died on Saturday - just moments after rescuers arrived at Middleton Beach to assess her condition. Project Dolphin Safe president Aaron Machado said the female pup had been repeatedly moved, dumped into the water and frightened by dogs for more than a week. "This animal was being harassed for eight days," he said. "People were putting it on their surfboards and paddling it back out to sea, they were moving it, letting their dogs run up to it. "If the pup is on the beach, it is on the beach for a reason. The pup knows why it is there and the mother knows why it is there."

Mr Machado said his organisation - as well as National Parks and Wildlife - were called by members of the public for more than a week about the seal. But every time a wildlife officer arrived, the seal had been moved or put into the water. Mr Machado said mother seals took pups to a safe stretch of coastline - away from the rest of the colony - while they fed at sea. He said the mother might be gone for several days - even up to a week - but would return to the exact spot where she had left her pup. "I'm sure these people are well-intentioned and just trying to do the right thing, but they need to understand that these animals should be left alone," he said. It was illegal to approach within 10m of a seal while it was on land, he said. Department for Environment and Heritage Adelaide regional conservator Laurence Haegi said most people who approached seal pups were trying to help. He said it was important to know it was best to leave rescue efforts to experts. People with concerns should telephone DEH or Project Dolphin Safe on 8262 5452. *Adelaide Now

Meanwhile a lucky group of beachgoing children had a summer trip to remember when they came across a seal pup lazing on the foreshore. The four children and a parent, Jackie Murley, sat and watched the small seal as it came ashore at Aspendale. `We saw the seal swimming along the shoreline, then he or she came on to the beach to rest,'' Mrs Murley said. The seal appeared in no hurry to move on, she said. ``We were there for approximately two hours and he was still there when we left.'' Mrs Murley said the four children watched the seal snooze in the sun while keeping guard to ensure it was safe. Wildlife Victoria spokeswoman Fiona Corke encouraged people to enjoy chance encounters with wildlife but give the animals a wide berth. ``We can enjoy wildlife but just respect them and leave these animals alone,'' Ms Corke said. To report injured wildlife , contact Wildlife Victoria on 1300 094 535. *Mordialoc News


Road Kills

The NSW Roads and Traffic Authority has proudly announced the success of a road safety program - for our State's native wildlife. To reduce the number of animals killed on NSW roads each year, the RTA has installed more than 200 animal crossings on NSW highways. Rather than wait for a break in the constant flow of traffic, native animals are using specifically built tunnels and bridges to cross roads. And some of Australia's favourite native creatures have been smiling for the cameras as they scurry by. A little possum was snapped crossing over a rope bridge that hangs above the Pacific Highway on the Mid North Coast which the RTA installed four years ago. Since the bridge's unveiling, the RTA estimates it has been used by wildlife pedestrians at least 250 times. "Roads can be hazardous for slow-moving animals, such as koalas, and also for drivers who may brake or swerve suddenly to avoid (hitting) animals (crossing the roads)," an RTA spokesman said. "Building habitat connections like overhead wire-rope bridges across highways helps maintain healthy and genetically diverse native animal populations," he added.

Jilea Carney, spokeswoman for WIRES Australia, said the tunnels and overpasses were essential to help reduce the animal road toll. "We need to give wildlife every possible chance and there are a number of road-kill hot spots around the State and the (wildlife) toll at the hot spots is quite high," she said. "Where (safety) diversions have been installed, such as possum crossings and tunnels, that wildlife road toll decreases." Ms Carney said loss of habitat is one of the most common impacts threatening Australia's native animal populations, and road construction contributed to that. The first native animal crossings were built under the F3 Freeway about 20 years ago. Since then, bridges and tunnels have been constructed at different locations around the State to maintain habitat connections for threatened populations and to minimise the impact of road construction on the environment. Animal crossings can be spotted at Bonville Bypass near Coffs Harbour and the Hume Highway duplication near Holbrook. *Daily Telegraph


Changes to the EPBC Act?

Environmental extremists would be the big winners from a proposal to make it easier for grassroots activists to tackle governments in the courts, a property development industry body has warned. The warnings, from Urban Taskforce Australia, come after one of the Rudd Government's key advisers recommended law changes to reduce the financial threat faced by community environment groups entering the legal system. Dr Allan Hawke has told Environment Minister Peter Garrett that ''public interest'' litigation has been hampered by laws forcing groups to prove upfront they can cover the costs of legal teams and delays caused by injunctions to contentious environmental projects. Dr Hawke's recommendation that Mr Garrett alter environment laws to make a day in court less financially daunting for community activists prompted a sharp response from UTA, which represents a group of Australia's biggest developers.

"'It's clear the review's proposals make it easier for environmental groups and local opponents to litigate projects. This will reduce opportunities for Australia to get the urban development it needs,'' said UTA chief executive Aaron Gadiel. ''Giving not-in-my-backyard activists a platform to challenge decisions will drench Australia in an American-style litigation culture.'' Mr Gadiel said Dr Hawke's recommendations were seeking to elevate environmental concerns above social and economic factors when approvals for new developments are considered. ''This represents a victory for extreme environment groups,'' he said. 'If this proposal is adopted, we could see the expansion of our cities halted on the flimsiest of environmental arguments.'' Mr Garrett is considering Dr Hawke's recommendations and will make a response in the coming year. *The Land


Panthers

The discovery of large paw prints on a Humevale property has sparked speculation of panthers living in the Whittlesea bush. The indentations, about 100mm in diameter and resembling big cat prints, were found in the driveway of Colin Hill's home, invigorating Whittlesea's own big cat legend. ``There was a set of tracks at the bottom of the driveway that crossed the yard and disappeared down into the valley,'' Mr Hill said last week. ``They were definitely a cat print and were as big as my fist. Judging by the size, I'd say they had to belong to a 50-80kg animal.'' It was not the first time Mr Hill had come across such tracks. `Before the bushfires, I found another set of tracks down near a dam on the next property,'' he said. Those prints were photographed, but the pictures were destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfires. Mr Hill said they resembled the prints of a large cat with long claws. ``The animal has used its claws to help lift itself out of the mud and the prints were unmistakable,'' he said.

Two years ago, he shot and killed a small jet black animal with yellow eyes which he believed at the time to be a feral cat. Now he said it might have been a panther cub. ``At the time I didn't even think about it, but I've never seen a cat with yellow eyes,'' he said. `After seeing the tracks, I wonder if it had been something else.'' Victorian big cat enthusiast John Turner said it was difficult to determine what had made the prints. `They are interesting but not definitive,'' he said, adding that they might have come from a large dog. Mr Hill was convinced they were not from a dog. Mr Turner has been attempting to uncover the big cat myth for 25 years and runs the website bigcatsvic.com.au, dedicated to Victorian sightings. He said there had been a number of big cat sightings in the Whittlesea area in the past five years.

Most sightings described a jet black leopard-sized creature with yellow eyes in or around farmland or on roadsides. The big cat theory is one that is common throughout Victoria, with about 400 reported sightings in the past five years. Some believe the creatures are offspring of black panthers brought over by US soldiers during World War II as mascots that escaped into the bush. Others think they may be an unindentified Australian predatory cat. Many discount the big cat theory entirely, claiming the creatures could simply be feral cats or black wallabies. Is this the paw print of a big cat or dog? Tell us online at whittlesealeader.com.au *Whittlesea Leader

The Fair Dinkum Characters

The new Summer range of toddlers wildlife shirts, shorts, and singlets are now avaliable on the Fair Dinkum Characters website at http://www.fairdinkum-characters.com too late for Christmas unfortuntely. The Dinkums are Ambassadors for the Wildlife Protection Association of Australia Inc. Watch for them playing in a Shopping Centre near you!

New political party, Animal Justice Party The time has come for animals to have a voice in the political arena. Animal Rights/Welfare is the next social justice movement and everyone can be a part of it. Please go to this website below to see how you can make a difference. Help end the suffering and become a voice for those without one. http://www.animaljusticeparty.org/About_the_AJP.html There you will find forms for both NSW and Federal memebrship. At this point no memebership fee is payable, and its important to get 750 members for the ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY to be registered as a political party. Other States will follow. It is important you fill in your name exactly as it appears on the Electoral Roll, otherwise your application will be invalid. You can download membership forms from the website. Please post to this address only... Animal Justice Party, P.O. Box 3126, Blakehurst 2221, Sydney NSW http://www.animaljusticeparty.org/About_the_AJP.html The animals need you......


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!