Wildlife Bytes 27/10/10

Lead Stories

Kangaroos

A hunter who shot four kangaroos with a high-powered bow, leaving two of them alive and in agony, has lost his appeal against a four month jail term. County Court judge Frank Gucciardo today told Justin Stavropoulos his offending was aggravated by him wearing camouflage gear, wounding kangaroos more than once and the fact a friend videoed his exploits. "Violence as a pastime, even if it involves animals, is completely unacceptable,'' the judge said. The judge was handed a video still showing a dead kangaroo shot by Stavropoulos which had a caption "Die ya dog!''. Judge Gucciardo imposed the same 12-month sentence with a four-month minimum handed down in Heidelberg Magistrates Court last October. As he was led to the cells Stavropoulos, who had been on bail, was surrounded by family and friends and hugged his 87-year-old grandmother and said "I love you''.

The court heard one of the animals he shot was found after days with an arrow through its face and another with an arrow festering in its rump. One of those animals, nicknamed Beau, later died after $4200 was spent on medical assistance. The judge also ordered Stavropoulos to repay the sum to the animal welfare groups who cared for the injured kangaroos. Outside court Manfred Zabinskas, of Wildlife Victoria, who helped recue the victims of Stavropoulos's cruelty, said the outcome was gratifying. "I've seen hundreds and hundreds of cases of cruelty like this but we never see anyone brought to justice,'' he said. "Finally someone is being held accountable for such a horrible action. We really need to send out a message this is not going to be tolerated by our community. "I feel sorry for his family but he did something really, really bad and he has to pay for that.''

Judge Gucciardo said there seemed to be a culture in society of people being inoculated against the suffering of others. Stavropoulos, 27, of Thomastown, had previously pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated animal cruelty and one count of hunting prohibited wildlife. Judge Gucciardo criticised the fact Stavropoulos was able to buy and use a high powered bow, with a range of 1000m, without a license. "How such a weapon can be easily obtained can only engender dismay,'' he said. Prosecutor Catherine Parkes had argued a prison term was appropriate. "This is a very serious case of animal cruelty of animal cruelty where there was prolonged cruelty to the animals,'' she said. Ms Parkes said Stavropoulos described kangaroos as rodents in a psychiatric report, indicating his lack of remorse for what he had done. His lawyer Jane Dixon SC described Stavropoulos as a "caring and responsible young man'' who did not deserve to go to jail. She said he did not realise the hunting of kangaroos was illegal and said the publicity the case attracted made her client reclusive and depressed. *Daily Telegraph

Green Roofs

Living roofs help cool cities, capture stormwater run-off, insulate buildings and reduce their carbon footprint. They also dampen noise and provide green habitats for birds - and people - in the concrete jungle.
With more than half of the world's population living in cities, advocates say the living roof's moment has come. The landscape architect and living roof expert Raphael Garcia, of the Californian architecture firm Rana Creek, who was to give a lecture at the University of NSW last night, told the Herald: ''The big thing we're trying to do is to change how we view our cities. Now it is polarised - the urban environment is a place for people, or you go away from people and that's a place of nature and a place of healing. We're trying to integrate nature into our cities.'' His projects include an undulating green roof over Renzo Piano's building for the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, ''healing gardens'' on the roofs of hospitals and a 3.5-hectare garden over the Croton Water Treatment Plant in the Bronx.

One of Rana Creek's most ambitious projects is a botanic garden on top of the new rail and bus hub in San Francisco, the Transbay Transit Centre, which will be six blocks long and about 30 metres off the ground in the middle of the city's financial district. It will be the first roof garden to have redwood trees and its own wetlands to process greywater, and it will capture all stormwater to flush the building's toilets. 'It's more than just a green facade,'' Mr Garcia said. Waterproofing and ensuring structural loading capacity tend to be the largest costs in building a green roof, but in essence they are quite simple and may be retrofit to existing buildings, Mr Garcia said. A root barrier, drainage mat and filter are minimum requirements before the soil can be laid.

Roofs are also being used for urban agriculture - China's biggest cities have started cultivating rice on roofs - but Australia is lagging well behind the rest of the world in promoting them, the upfront costs turning developers off. Matt Dillon, of the non-profit organisation Green Roofs Australia, which is sponsoring Mr Garcia's visit to Sydney this week, said planning bodies should provide incentives to developers to include green roofs on their buildings, such as tax relief or floor space bonuses. Mr Dillon said: ''For so long buildings have been responsible for high carbon emissions, now it's about getting to carbon neutral and then beyond that, it needs to be restorative where the buildings start to give back to the environment as well. That's the challenge.'' Age
Ed Comment; to read more about rooftop and balcony gardens visit our WPAA website at http://www.australian-backyard-wildlife.com

Editorial.....Climate Change

The biggest threat for all animals, not just wildlife, is the threat of Climate Change. Unfortunately some people just dont seem to be able to comprehend how serious a threat it is, and some dont even want to know about it....and we think it's because it's just too big an issue for some people to get a grip on. Latest predictions are that tide levels will rise one metre this century, and its entirely possible that they may rise to 2 metres by the end of the century. While the implications for wildlife are staggering, the impact of Climate Change on domestic animals is likely to be even worse.

Most of us understand that land habitats will become unlivable for many species of wildlife, and because current habitats are fractured and isolated, there is little chance of migration to more suitable habitats. But what about marine habitats? As oceans become warmer, currents are already changing, some species will migrate okay, but krill may disappear, leaving whales and many species of migrating seabirds without food. Many seaweeds and kelps will die out, leaving lots of marine species without shelter or food. Coral is already under serious threat, with massive areas of dead coral in the Phillipines, Carribean, and other places.

Pacific Island habitats will disappear under water, and huge areas of Australia will also go under. Councils are already developing mapping that shows millions of houses will disappear in suburban areas, in just the next few years. Who lives in Adelaide? Something like one-third of Adelaide will go under water this Century! While its bad news for humans, its also very bad news for all animals. Think about how a temperature increase of 3 degrees will affect wildlife habitats. If an increase of 3 or 4 degrees is hot enough to melt icebergs, and raise sea levels, how badly will it affect wildlife habitats? An increase of 3 degrees is a lot. What if, when the climate changes, the very hot and dry areas of Australia get rain, as well as heat? Would the high temperatures be bearable then...for both animals and humans? And what about the increase and changing habitat of the now tropical diseases like Ross River, Hendra Virus, Swine Flu, Barmah Forest, etc?

Please dont think Climate Change is something the next generation may have to deal with, dont think its something that may happen in 30 or 50 years time.....and dont think its something the Government will willingly take any action on. Climate Change is happening now, and it has been happening for some time. Its all been well documented that tides have been getting higher for many years, and now scientists know that during the last 20 years, tides have been getting higher....faster. Oceans are getting warmer, and more acidic, and ocean currents are changing. Climate Change is the ultimate hard argument...its all about wether both humans and animals can continue to live on this Planet.....or not! If we don't do something to force our incompetant governments to deal adequately with Climate Change, its likely that next Century there will only be the cockroaches living here.......

So, why not put a Climate Change argument into your next submission on wildlife? It doesnt matter what animal issue it is, you can still fit in a Climate Change argument, asking how this proposal or action, or whatever, will benefit animals from Climate Change factors. It may raise some awareness of Climate Change in relation to animals within the creaky and wobbly wheels of Government process. Climate Change is here, its now, and its urgent, but as always, its the animals that will finally have to bear the brunt of our lifestyle excesses. At least we dont have to worry about the cockroaches, because they'll manage just fine!

Wildlife MiniBytes

Irish Wallaby

Five partygoers attending a 30th birthday party at a Dublin hotel where a wallaby was let loose chipped in €50 each to rent the animal, it has been claimed. There was international outrage over the incident after footage emerged showing the distressed animal cruelly being thrown around the room. Partygoers danced with it roughly and crudely in the Clarion Hotel in Liffey Valley, west Dublin, to the theme tune of Australian television show Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. There have been allegations that the animal was plied with alcohol and ecstasy but these are entirely unsubstantiated, according to garda sources. There has also been speculation that the wallaby may have died after the incident, but gardaí say there is no firm evidence to suggest it is dead. On Thursday, an Australian businessman living in Ireland offered a €10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the cruelty against the wallaby. The anonymous donor offered the cash reward through Animal Rights Action Network (Aran), which has been inundated with calls since.
Read more http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2010/oct/24/revellers-chipped-in-50-each-to-rent-wallaby-for-p/

Kangaroos on the Run

Landowners and kangaroos are increasingly coming into contact in Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs, and the roos often come off second best. Farmers say they cause damage, but conservationists want them saved. Alana Schetzer hops into the debate. Standing perfectly still, his eyes focused on us with unnerving intensity, an adult eastern grey kangaroo stands alert, ready to jump. Dangers are everywhere here, in Plenty Gorge in Greensborough – kangaroos can be hit by drivers doing ‘‘burn-outs’’, chased by locals for sport, or shot by wildlife management officials if the Department of Sustainability and Environment deems them too numerous. Wildlife Rescuer Narelle Smith shakes her head. She understands why he doesn’t trust us. ‘‘We have no idea the impact we are having on our wildlife,’’ Smith, a Wildlife Victoria volunteer for more than 10 years, says. In Melbourne’s north-eastern suburbs she most often tends to kangaroos that have been hit by cars, caught in fences on farms or attacked by dogs. ‘‘It’s odd that [for] an animal that’s meant to be our iconic symbol, there’s actually very little respect for it. It’s very sad they’re seen more for being slaughtered and hunted down.’’
This is a very long but interesting story, read more here http://www.banyuleandnillumbikweekly.com.au/news/local/news/news-features/watch-out-roos-on-the-run/1978238.aspx?storypage=0

Wildlife Watching

"A Year of Watching Wildlife: A Guide to the World’s Best Animal Encounters" by David Lukas, 2009, Lonely Planet, $19.99, softbound, 223 pages: Claiming that wildlife watching is one of the most exciting reasons to travel, this book opens with a two-page wildlife watching map, marking the places Lukas advises visiting. The map is color-coded for the prime times to go to the designated spots. Then Lukas breaks the places down into the top locations, which come under five headings: oceans, rainforests, deserts and grasslands, mountains and islands. All the categories are illuminated in more detail, come with five of his choice picks and include a brief description of the areas and what animals you are likely to encounter there. A color photo heads the broader categories. The bulk of the book takes the reader through the months and weeks of the year to aid the interested vacationer in knowing when to plan for travel. There is a short checklist on the bottom left corner of each week, titled "What You’ll See." Here, the reader will find what animals he or she may want to experience up close. Simply flip through, find your choicest animals and start from there. All manner of animals are represented, from greater spotted eagles to ravens, lions, penguins, hummingbirds, sand cats (small wild cats of the African and Asian deserts), meerkats and monarch butterflies. Lukas lists parks, refuges, reserves and more, from India to Australia, Mexico and Estonia, and gives a portrayal of every location in terms of the species you will see there. * Network Item

Wildlife Traffic Crossings Success

Bridging the killing field in Banff; Banff's controversial wildlife overpasses have become a runaway success in reducing wildlife deaths on the Trans-Canada highway, yet in Australia its mostly been considered too expensive, or not effective. Now, in Canada, the world is starting to take notice.
Read more http://www.calgaryherald.com/travel/Bridging+killing+field/3718493/story.html

Tigers

Weak U.S. regulations on keeping captive tigers could be feeding the multimillion dollar international black market for tiger parts, according to a new analysis released by WWF and TRAFFIC, the world's largest wildlife trade monitoring network. As few as 3,200 tigers are left in the wild across Asia, down from 100,000 just a hundred years ago. But there are an estimated 5,000 captive tigers in the United States, and most are kept by private individuals, not zoos. With more tigers in captivity in the United States than survive in the wild, the country needs a centralized federal database to monitor the big cats, the two groups advise. "In addition to being a threat to communities, captive tigers in the U.S. are a ticking time bomb for the illegal wildlife trade," said Leigh Henry, WWF senior policy officer for Species Conservation. Henry says that the illegal trade in products derived from captive tigers stimulates demand for body parts from wild tigers. The more demand there is, the more wild tigers are poached. *Network Item

Mutton Bird Deaths

Rainbow Beach has been spared the worst of the recent spate of mutton bird deaths along the coastline of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. Despite sightings of birds washed up on beaches on Fraser Island, the Sunshine Coast and Moreton and Stradbroke Islands, only one had been reported to Rainbow Beach life guards yesterday. It had been found along the Inskip Point ocean beach. Wildlife experts yesterday said the birds were victims of fierce storm conditions in the northern hemisphere, as they fly on their annual migration from northern Russia to south-eastern Australia. Weather conditions have been described as extreme from Japan to the Philippines and the birds have been confirmed as having died from exhaustion. Millions of the birds fly to breeding sites in Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia each year and it is thought that deaths from exhaustion may number in the thousands. The Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, a division of the Department of Environment and Resource Management, yesterday arranged for some of the birds to be tested to ensure they had not died from any unwanted diseases which may threaten other Australian wildlife or even humans. Yesterday a spokesperson confirmed that “tests carried out on dead short-tailed shearwater or mutton birds have confirmed that they died of exhaustion. “Their store of energy was depleted as they encountered difficult conditions on their long migratory journey,” a spokesperson said. *Gympie times

Surveillence Cameras in National Parks

We've just seen a surveillance photo taken last week by Queensland's DERM in the Cooloola Section of Rainbow Beach, towards Teewah Beach. Apparently there are surveillance cameras scattered throughout some of our National Parks, under the RAM Act. This Act was introduced supposedly to protect children from wild animals in National Parks, and to protect the Qld government from legal claims if child was injured by a wild animal??? So if you are in one of Queenslands National Parks, you should be careful if changing, swimming, or toileting, or doing anything you are not supposed to do. While its sad that these hidden cameras are being used, we've been told that one person has already been jailed for ignoring the new signs and guidelines. Is Australia still a free country do you think?

Feral Murray Cod

A Murray cod -- regarded as a threatened species in Australia -- has been netted in Japan's largest lake. An elderly fisherman caught the Australian visitor on October 14 and found three local ayu (a small type of trout) in its stomach. His catch left fisheries officials scratching their heads until they turned up a picture of the iconic Australian freshwater fish in a textbook. The 26cm cod was netted in about 1.5m of water in the massive lake in the southwest of Japan's main island, Honshu. Veteran ayu fisherman Masayoshi Tourai, 78, was surprised by his mystery catch and turned it over to officials. "I have been working here as a fisherman for 65 years and this (is the) first time that I have ever seen such a fish," he said. A fisheries official told The Australian it was the first time a Murray cod had been caught in the lake, but they had been sold in Japan as ornamental fish despite that fact they can grow to 1.8m and more than 100kg. "Maybe some private collector purchased the fish while it was still small and the owner could not keep up with his eating habits or could not prepare a big enough tank to keep him," he said. The official said another possibility was that the cod had been released by sports fishers. *Underwater Times

Tassie Devils

A groundbreaking research project to save the Tasmanian devil is one of hundreds of projects that will share in $376 million worth of Federal Government funding. The University of Sydney has been awarded one of the largest chunks of the funding, with $510,000 allocated to study devils whose genes may hold the key to stopping the deadly facial tumour disease. The University of Sydney's chief researcher into the Tasmanian devil project, Kathy Belov, says without the research her team is conducting, the once common species could be extinct within 25 years. "At this stage we're predicting the disease will spread across the entire state of Tasmania within five years and then we'll start to see extinction in the wild in about 25 years," she said. "If you look at the east coast of Tasmania, the disease has been there for a good 20 years already and about 90 per cent of the devils are gone. "So we would start to see local extinctions very soon." Associate Professor Belov says the research team is using the latest sequencing technology to try and understand how the cancer is evolving in the devils. "Then we can try to use this info to try to stop the spread of the cancer. We've realised over the past year or two that the cancer's changing and different regions of Tasmania have different variants of the cancer," she said. "With this funding we'll be able to understand how these variants differ and work on developing strategies to stop the spread." She says time is running out for the devils "We're doing our best. We've got an amazing group of people in Tasmania and on the mainland and overseas collaborators as well working as hard as they can on this problem," she said. "We've had setbacks. Recently one of our animals that we thought was disease free actually died from the disease, so it's certainly not straightforward and we certainly can't promise that we can save the species but we're certainly going to do everything we can to try." *ABC

Snakes

Tips to deal with snakes.......• Mow grass around your home regularly to keep it short. • Tidy up any rubbish or wood piles where snakes may like to hide. • If you have a bird aviary, ensure food scraps are kept off the ground. The food attracts mice, which attract snakes. • All wildlife are drawn to water, including snakes. • If you see a snake in the bush, the best thing to do is leave it alone – it will most likely try to get away from you.• If a snake or lizard is indoors or in an area where it needs to be removed – call the shire, rangers, or police to get the number of an accredited reptile rescuer. • If a snake is in a room, close the door and block any gaps so it can’t escape. • Where possible, always watch the snake so rescuers can easily find it when they arrive. • Most of our reptile rescuers are volunteers – please consider donating some money to help them cover expenses such as fuel. • It is an offence to harm snakes and lizards. • If you are bitten, immobilise, apply a pressure bandage and seek help immediately. *Brusselton Mail

Warnings have been issued across Queensland that snakes are being washed out of their hiding spots due to recent rains. Pet owners and walkers have been warned to be aware. Snakes that usually bit pets were eastern browns, red-belly blacks and whip snakes. We've noticed a few dead snakes on the roads lately too, so drivers should be aware that pythons and carpet snakes are moving around.

Whaling

One of Japan's closest allies declared over the weekend that all of its oceans - more than 600,000 square kilometres - would be a sanctuary for whales, dolphins, dugongs, sharks and other species. "There will be no hunting or harassment of marine mammals and other species in our waters," said the Honourable Harry Fritz, minister of the environment, natural resources and tourism of the Republic of Palau. "We urge other nations to join our efforts to protect whales, dolphins and other marine animals," Fritz said at a press conference during Oceans Day at the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan. Japan has long sought to overturn the global ban on commercial whaling and has actively solicited and received Palau's support for many years. Japan is its second largest source of development aid after the United States. Japanese tourists frequent the islands since many people speak some Japanese. "Palau now supports conserving marine mammals, along with sharks and other species," said Susan Lieberman, director of international policy for the Pew Environment Group, a large U.S. NGO. "This is a very significant announcement," Lieberman told IPS. "Japan remains our very good friend, and we would like to work in harmony to achieve what we both want," said Fritz. *Underwater Times

Coral Sea Marine Park

Green groups say new research shows the need to have the Coral Sea declared a protected marine park. A study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has found the Coral Sea is home to 42 per cent of the world's endangered and vulnerable coral species. The Federal Government is considering forming a one million square kilometre marine park encompassing the Coral Sea, with controls on fishing and likely 'no-take' fishing-free zones. Nicola Temple from the Marine Conservation Society says action is needed immediately. "We're so used to reacting to immediate threats, to an oil spill or a change in fishing practices that feels so immediately urgent, but this is an opportunity to act now to safeguard what's already there," she said. She says the new research shows only 1 per cent of the Coral Sea is protected. "We are of course advocating for a very large and fully protected world class marine park in the Coral Seas because it simply would be an unprecedented contribution to marine conservation," she said. *ABC

Macquarie Birds Poisoned

The number of birds killed on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island after being exposed to poison is worse than first thought. Two months ago Parks and Wildlife admitted 300 birds had been killed after being exposed to poison pellets. The baits were laid as part of a $24 million bid to rid the island of rats, rabbits and mice. Now it has been revealed that 431 birds have died, including kelp gulls, giant petrels and black ducks. Ian Rist took an interest in the eradication program and was concerned about the chosen poison, brodifacoum. He wrote to the Federal Environment Department which revealed that the level of bird deaths was higher than first thought and a review was underway. Since discovered, Macquarie Island has fired the imagination of adventurers and scientists. The island lies about half way between Tasmania and Antarctica and for decades has been a centre for research. It was first recorded 200 years ago in July 1810. *ABC

Climate Change...Coral Bleaching

The western Caribbean is now afflicted with major coral bleaching, with sea temperatures anomalously high according to the The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Earlier this year the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced above-average sea surface temperature in the wider Caribbean region, but there had been no clear indication of increased sea temperatures in Panam and the western Caribbean until late August / early September. Scientists and local dive operators first noticed coral bleaching in the waters surrounding Isla Colon, in Panama's Bocas del Toro province in July. Smithsonian staff scientist Nancy Knowlton and colleagues documented an extensive bleaching event in late September. Station personnel recorded an extreme sea water temperature of 32 degrees Celsius. Normal temperatures at this time of year are closer to 28 degrees. This warming is affecting the entire Caribbean coast of Panama from Kuna-Yala to Bocas del Toro and has also been reported at sites in Costa Rica. *Wildlife Extra

Wildlife Trafficking

Thai police on Friday raided a warehouse where wildlife smugglers were storing thousands of illegally collected animals for shipment overseas, a conservation group said. Police seized various snakes, turtles, tortoises and pangolins from the warehouse in the central province of Ayutthaya and arrested its owner, the Thailand-based Freeland Foundation said. They included species protected under international agreements and Thai law. The warehouse was run by a criminal syndicate that was shipping at least 1.2 tons of wildlife out of Thailand every week to consumer countries, it said. Several secret holding facilities are believed to exist, it said. Southeast Asia supplies illegally traded wildlife to a global market estimated to be worth $10 billion to $30 billion annually, Freeland said in a statement. It said the illegal trade to meet demand in China and Vietnam for freshwater turtles, tortoises, snakes and pangolins threatens their survival in the wild. The raid was notable because it uncovered a major holding facility and involved the arrest of an alleged major trafficker, Freeland director Steven Galster said in the statement. "In the past, portions of these shipments were seized along highways and border checkpoints, resulting sometimes in the arrest of truck drivers," he said. *LA Times

Meanwhile, a remote state in northeastern India has introduced tough anti-poaching laws with penalties of up to 10 years in prison for killing a rhinoceros, elephant or tiger, an official said Friday. The new legislation is a response to poachers killing at least nine endangered one-horn rhinos this year in and around Kaziranga National Park in Assam state, known for its wildlife diversity. More than 2,000 of the estimated 3,000 one-horn rhinos left in the wild live in the 166-square mile (430-square kilometre) park. The new penalties, which went into effect Wednesday and only apply in Assam, are an update to the federal government's Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, said Rokybul Hussain, the state forest minister. That act levies jail terms of three to seven years for poachers. Poachers will now face increased fines in Assam of 50,000 rupees ($1,085), five times what the national law provides for, Hussain said. "We mean business in getting at poaching gangs," he said. * GoogleNews

And then, terrified householders had to abandon an entire town after 3,000 illegally bred king cobra eggs hatched out and gave their owner the slip. The eggs - bred to supply the traditional health industry - had been stored in a cage in a house in Xianling, south west China. But the newly hatched snakes escaped through a hole in their enclosure and took over the entire town. "We don't really know how many survived but we caught 170 of them so we think a lot are still missing," said a police spokesman. King cobras - which as adults can reach 18ft in length -are among the most deadly snakes in the world and can kill a man with a single bite. Illegal breeder Cai Yong is now facing jail for breeding venomous snakes without a licence. *Orange.uk

Possum Kill Plan Approved

Re: Finalisation of Management Plan for the Commercial Harvest and Export of Brushtail Possums in Tasmania 2010-2015, from Wildlife Trade Assessments.

Thank you for your submission on the draft Management Plan for the Commercial Harvest and Export of Brushtail Possums in Tasmania 2010-2015 which was available for public comment between 19 March and 23 April 2010. This email is to advise you of the outcome of the assessment of the Management Plan. Following receipt of submissions received during the public comment period, the Tasmanian Government submitted an amended management plan to the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities for a full assessment against the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to ensure that it met the requirements under the Act including, but not limited to, ecological sustainability, minimising environmental impacts and compliance with animal welfare regulations.

On 15 October 2010, after considering the department’s assessment, the Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the Hon Tony Burke MP, conditionally approved the plan, exclusive of the component allowing trapping and live transport of animals to abattoirs for slaughter. The minister also placed a number of other conditions on his approval including the requirement to develop a code of practice for the shooting of common brushtail possums and to report annually on the management plan. The plan will be valid from the date of gazettal until 30 June 2015. The minister’s approval will be published in the Government Gazette Notices on Wednesday 27 October 2010 with the approved plan and gazetted declaration to be published on the department’s website soon after.

Thank you for your interest in this matter. Wildlife Trade Assessments Section, Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, GPO Box 787, CANBERRA ACT 2601

Ed Comment; I think most of us expected the Plan to be approved anyway, which shows how far out of touch with the broader community the Federal government is. At least they didnt approve the live capture and transport of the possums. Fortunately the market for possum meat is small, and is unlikely to impact that much on possum populations. Skins are not in high demand either, other than for garment trim, and synthetic fur is cheaper for manufacturers to use. We also think there will be a community backlash that will affect the Tasmanian tourism Industry.

Websites of Interest

The Kangaroo TrailTM will take you on an unparalleled journey of discovery across the vast Australian continent and its offshore islands. You will see supreme athletes such as one of the four species of plains dwelling kangaroos, rock climbers who seem to defy gravity such as one of the fifteen species of rock-wallaby, and one of the best noses for truffles in the world, the long-nosed potoroo. http://www.rootourism.com.au

Micheal Snedic's wildlife photography page http://www.michaelsnedic.com

Voiceless Kangaroo Facts Sheet http://www.voiceless.org.au/The_Issues/Fact_Sheets/kangaroos.html