Leading Stories
Dugongs
The population of dugongs living off the Townsville coast has taken another hit with a carcass spotted on Sunday. The dead animal was spotted by a fishing charter company and appeared to have been floating for some time. Townsville Fishing Charters operator Michael Walsh said he had been saddened to see the remains of the dugong about halfway between Rattlesnake Island and Magnetic Island. He said he had not seen a dugong in Townsville waters since beginning the company about a year ago. "It's just very sad to see," he said. The Department of Environment and Resource Management said it would not be investigating the death because the current would have moved it far from where it was sighted. However, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service acting regional manager for marine Justine Douglas said a dead dugong was also reported yesterday on a beach near the mouth of Crystal Creek. Ms Douglas said staff would investigate the sighting of the beached carcass today at Crystal Creek when tides allowed. "This may not be the dugong that was reported seen at sea," she said.
Dugongs are listed as a vulnerable species under Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992, as well as nationally. Threats to the species include the danger of dugongs being hit by boats and other watercrafts as they rise to the surface to breathe in shallow waters above seagrass beds or coral reefs. Dugongs are also under threat from diminishing food sources with seagrass affected by the impact of factors such as pollution and high boat traffic. Other direct threats to the gentle species include being caught in fishing nets. The marine creatures have been known to grow up to 3m long and weigh as much as 400kg. In April, rangers were called to Magnetic Island after a 2.6m dugong carcass washed ashore at Nelly Bay. The department said the creature appeared to have died of natural causes. Wildlife Queensland president Simon Baltais said the population of dugongs and turtles had been affected by the extended period of wild weather. Mr Baltais said flooding had caused in higher silt levels in the water which blocked sunlight for seagrass to grow. He said there was a threat of the marine creatures starving because of the depleted amount of seagrass. Anyone who spots a dead dugong is encouraged to report it to the department on 1300 130 372. *Townsville Bulletin
Flying Foxes
The latest bat-borne Hendra virus outbreak has prompted renewed calls for a cull of flying fox colonies in the state. Scenic Rim Mayor John Brent, whose council takes in the affected area, said the State Government needed to urgently assess ways to protect horses by limiting or moving bat colonies. Cr Brent said the link between the bats and the fatal disease was known. "It's not sufficient to turn our backs on the root cause of the problem," he said. "Governments and their agencies were well aware of the cause of the Hendra virus and proactive action needs to be taken to address that issue where the bats are in some overwhelming numbers." Sunshine Coast horse owner Rebecca Day, who was exposed to Hendra virus last year, backed the call. "I don't believe they (flying foxes) should be protected. I do believe they are a pest and danger, not only to animals but to humans as well, and they should be seen as that," she said. "These are in plague proportions so I really think something needs to be done about it. "I'd definitely support some sort of cull or something to eradicate or move them." *Courier Mail Read more ... http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland
Dolphins
A reward of $5000 is up for grabs for anyone who can help authorities find the killers of two rare dolphins. The snubfin dolphins were found tied to mangroves and weighed down by concrete blocks at Toolakea Beach, north of Townsville, last month. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says it appears the dolphins were accidentally caught in fishing nets and the people responsible tried to conceal the bodies. The World Wildlife Fund is now offering a $5000 reward donated by ING Direct for anyone with information that can lead to the people responsible for the dolphins' death. WWF Australia chief executive Dermot O'Gorman said he hoped the reward would encourage people to speak. Crime Stoppers Queensland is assisting Queensland Police and the GBRMPA. Crime Stoppers can be contacted 24 hours a day. *AAP
Koala Fundraiser
Join performers and experts, as they raise awareness (and funds!) on the plight of the koalas in south-east Queensland. The evening will include: Film : the premiere screening of the documentary - Making Room for Koalas by Livesmart Videos, Drama : The Last Wild Koala, Music : Nina Centaine and Josh Halverson, Guest speakers, Q and A local koala action groups. A Raffle of locally donated items and services. All tickets just $22 Book online See it on Youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MB88NL36UmQ *Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!*
New Species Found
Scientists have made spectacular discoveries of more than a thousand new species on the island of New Guinea and its waters from 1998 to 2008, according to environmental group World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The remarkable finds total 1,060 new species, but due to a poor planning and unsustainable development in the country, many of these unique creatures are at risk of becoming endangered or extinct, a WWF report finds. The paper -- Final Frontier: Newly Discovered species of New Guinea (1998 – 2008) -- shows that the research has yielded positive results into the discovery of 218 plants, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, 2 birds and 71 fish species. “This report shows that New Guinea's forests and rivers are among the richest and most bio-diverse in the world,” WWF's Western Melanesia program representative, Neil Stronach, told AFP. “But it also shows us that unchecked human demand can push even the wealthiest environments to bankruptcy,” he added. *RedOrbit
Read more .. http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/2070216/scientists_discover_new_species_around_new_guinea/
Fraser Island DIngoes
Here is a must watch Video on how DERM are interfering with the Fraser Island dingoes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSSaknF6Wnw&feature=feedu
Ibis
Efforts are being made to move a flock of ibises which is contaminating wetlands in Adelaide's north-east. The number of Australian white ibises has doubled recently to about 200 at the Roy Amer Reserve at Oakden. Water from the wetlands no longer can be used to replenish the reserve's lakes or on surrounding grass. A resident, Dennis Hehir, says his house is right in the firing line of the birds' smell. "We've got to very careful which way the wind's blowing when we turn on the air-conditioning in the summer because if it happens to be coming across this way, we turn the air-conditioner on and the house will fill up with a stench, so we've got to be very careful with opening the windows here as well," he said. Port Adelaide-Enfield Council has distributed a brochure to residents asking them not to feed the birds as it tries to move them away from the area. Council official George Levay hopes the public's help will overcome the dilemma. "My main message to the community is not to feed the birds because the supplementary feeding is what has the biggest impact on them messing the wetland environment," he said. Alison Derry has been employed by the council to create a control management plan for the reserve. Ms Derry says the birds have migrated from New South Wales and Queensland and are driving out ducks and coots. *Network Item
Tassie Devils
Efforts to save the Tasmanian devil from extinction have been given a boost by the publication of the entire genetic sequence of two devils. Tasmanian devils are small carnivorous marsupials, native to Tasmania. The remaining population is in dramatic decline due to a highly contagious cancer called devil facial tumour disease (DFTD). Thirty scientists from Australia, Denmark and the USA collaborated on the study, which is published in this week's edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Former Australian researcher Professor Vanessa Hayes of the J Craig Venter Institute in San Diego - and one of the study's three lead authors - says DFTD was first spotted in 1996. "This is one of two transmissible cancers that we know of," she said. She says it is an aggressive disease with 100 per cent mortality. It causes death by starvation within two years of an animal contracting the disease. *ABC
Read more .. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/28/3255266.htm
Whaling
Japan's coast guard has reportedly been asked to send a patrol boat to protect whalers from militant activists in the Antarctic. Japan's Kyodo news agency is reporting the fisheries ministry has asked the coast guard to dispatch a boat to protect the whaling fleet during this season's hunt. But it is believed the coast guard is reluctant to send a boat to the Antarctic, arguing it has no legal basis to do so. During the last whaling season, Sea Shepherd activists obstructed Japan's fleet by throwing bottles of butyric acid at ships and attempting to foul their propellers. The four whaling ships were forced to return home early after catching less than 10 per cent of their quota. * Network Item
Whales
A moving sunset display featuring 2000 candle-lit lanterns capped off an eventful day at Torquay Beach on the weekend as crowds reflected on the importance of protecting Hervey Bay's iconic humpback whales. Wildlife Crusader Bob Irwin was among the 600 people who registered for the annual Paddle Out for Whales. He officially opened the day with a speech on the importance of conserving Australia's wildlife, including the whales, before jumping in a canoe with activist Vicki Neville. Backpackers, local business owners and conservation conscious locals formed a circle out on the Bay and released flowers representing the number of whales killed in the Antarctic during the last Japanese hunting season. Organiser Amanda French said numbers were up on previous years and thanked those who had donated their time. *Fraser Coast Chronicle
Southern Right Whales Return
After being hunted to local extinction more than a century ago and unable to remember their ancestral calving grounds, the southern right whales of mainland New Zealand are coming home. A new study published today has shown for the first time that whales from a small surviving population around remote, sub-Antarctic islands have found their way back to the New Zealand mainland. Before the onslaught of 19th century whaling, historical records suggest that up to 30,000 of these impressive whales once migrated each winter to New Zealand's many sandy, well-protected bays to give birth and raise their calves. As a particularly social and acrobatic species, they could be seen from shore as they frolicked, slapped their tails and breached almost entirely out of the water. And now they're coming back, according to researchers from Oregon State University, the University of Auckland and other institutions. The findings were just published in Marine Ecology Progress Series. "We used DNA profiling to confirm that seven whales are now migrating between the sub-Antarctic islands and mainland New Zealand," said Scott Baker, associate director of the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU who initiated a study of these whales in 1995. *Underwater Times
Read more ... http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=90871325641
Kangaroo Dreaming
Miners want to run a slurry line to Maria Island from an iron ore deposit, writes Lindsay Murdoch in the Gulf of Carpentaria. They are unaware that an island they plan to develop in the Gulf of Carpentaria is a deeply sacred place for Aborigines, who believe there is a poisonous tree there that will kill them. Elders from the Marra indigenous group are angry that they have not been asked about Maria Island, where they believe the Kangaroo Dreaming travelled from the central desert before reaching its final resting place and should never be disturbed. They say miners will be unaware of the traditional song lines and creation stories of indigenous clans that are custodians of the island, including the story of the poisonous sheoak tree. The island, part of which is claimed under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, is also home to the endangered golden bandicoot and is the only place in Australia where three types of turtles lay their eggs. *Age
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/elders-in-island-battle-warn-of-poisonous-tree-20110626-1glvx.html#ixzz1QWHoulhE
Crocodiles
Pearl ship workers have witnessed a rare sight in nature - a huge crocodile attacking a turtle. The life-and-death struggle in Knocker Bay, east of Darwin, went on for more than 10 minutes. The saltie won. Pearl chipper Mark Beverley, 25, of Darwin, filmed the battle from a Paspaley boat. "We didn't know what was happening at first," he said. "We thought it was a shark. It was only when we got closer that we realised it was a massive crocodile killing a turtle. "The croc didn't mind us even when we got very close." The turtle put up a good fight but the saltie eventually crushed its shell. *NT News
Climate Change
West Antarctica's biggest glacier is melting 50 per cent faster than in 1994, adding to a global increase in sea levels, US and UK scientists found. The Pine Island glacier is losing about 78 cubic kilometrs (30 cubic miles) of ice per year, the researchers at Columbia University in New York and the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, England, said today. That's up from 53 cubic kilometes in 1994. The study in the journal Nature Geoscience is based on data from a 2009 expedition. Scientists are grappling to understand how much Antarctica's ice could contribute to higher sea-levels after the United Nations in 2007 predicted they'll rise by 18 to 59 centimetres this century. Just how much of that will come from the southern continent remains uncertain. *Age
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/climate-change/melting-of-west-antarcticas-biggest-glacier-acclererates-20110627-1gmcg.html#ixzz1QWGhLNAR
Mangroves
Employees of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) in Central Visayas, (Philipines) students and other local government officials planted over 10,000 mangrove propagules yesterday that covered about 10,000 square meters of coastlines within the 1,028-hectare Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapulapu City. DENR-7 regional executive director Maximo Dichoso said, we want to ensure the integrity of the coastal resources by way of mangrove tree planting and coastal cleanup activities and soliciting the help of the communities and other stakeholders. “Mangroves are salt tolerant, woody, seed-bearing plants ranging in size from small shrubs to tall trees. They occur along sheltered inter-tidal coastlines and in association with estuaries and lagoons,” Dichoso explained. Although mangroves occur on saline soils they have the usual plant requirements of freshwater, nutrients, and oxygen, Dichoso continued. The Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapulapu City is the Philippines first wetland of international importance for waterfowl and covers vast mangrove forest. * Read more http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=39482
Kangaroos
Professional marksmen have shot more than half the kangaroos in six Canberra reserves, in the territory's latest cull. But the cull was a respite of sorts for the kangaroos, with 2439 killed, compared with the original target of up to 3427. A range of factors saved the kangaroos from being shot in greater numbers, TAMS Parks and Conservation Service manager Daniel Iglesias said. These included a full moon during the 14 nights set aside for shooting, which helped the animals see and evade trackers, and cold weather, which encouraged them to stay beneath tree cover overnight. Mulligans Flat, Goorooyaroo, Mt Painter, Callam Brae, Jerrabomberra West and Kama nature reserves were closed for the culls on June 3 and re-opened yesterday. Mr Iglesias said teams counted 4482 kangaroos in the reserves, calculating a sustainable population to be little more than 1000. Last year contractors shot and buried 1890 kangaroos.
Mr Iglesias said rangers would monitor the effect this year's smaller-than-planned cull had on the fauna in Canberra's reserves in deciding next year's cull. But, he said, there had been little choice but to remove the burden burgeoning kangaroo populations placed on the reserves. ''Wherever you remove the natural predator of an animal like a kangaroo, in this case the thylacine and the dingo, they can do really, really well and they degrade the natural environment.'' Animal Liberation ACT president Bernard Brennan said the group's volunteers were searching reserves for joeys that had been left behind by the cull. And he rejected suggestions that without the cull species like the legless lizard were in danger of losing their habitat and food source. 'Basically they're all doomed anyhow, including the kangaroos,'' he said. ''Until we can establish wildlife corridors for all the animals including the kangaroos, they're doomed.'' *Canberra Times Ed Comment; the ABC states 900 joeys (baby kangaroos) were also killed.
Meanwhile the ABC reports that the National Parks and Wildlife Service has issued a warning to landholders on the Monaro in the New South Wales south east about the illegal shooting of kangaroos. The organisation's Bombala office has received reports of "roo drives", in which people are killing the animals without a licence. Fines of up to $11,000 can be issued for the offence, or jail terms of up to six months. The Area Manager of the Service, Franz Peters, says recent conditions have led to an increase in the kangaroo population. "You're not finding them on the roads as much anymore," he said. "They're breeding up because the conditions are really good. "And they're competing of course with the livestock that farmers have in their paddocks, and that's when problems occur. "The majority of people do the right thing, and all we're doing is trying to reiterate that point, that we want people to come into the office, and apply for a licence." **
Weedy Sea Dragons
The WA Government has agreed to declare the weedy sea dragon a protected species following a community campaign that saw the involvement of internationally recognised conservationist Sir David Attenborough. Fisheries Minister Norman Moore said the recreational harvesting of the marine creatures would be prohibited under new regulations to be approved by the State Government. Currently recreational fishers can take up to 30 of the delicate sea horse-like animals every day, a situation that has led to concerns of overfishing. “That potentially exposes the weedy sea dragon to unsustainable harvests, and unnecessary risk, which is easily managed by declaring them a protected species,” Mr Moore said. “The weedy sea dragons are related to sea horses and considered by some cultures as highly valuable for alternative medicine. "Making them a protected species removes any risk of this becoming an issue in WA waters and I was happy to support the change,” he said. The Cottesloe Coastcare Association and the Wilderness Society have been calling for the creature to be given the same protection in WA that it enjoys in the rest of Australia.
Earlier this month Sir David Attenborough lent his support to the campaign, describing the weedy sea dragon as being “among the most astounding, beautiful and beguiling creatures on the planet”. CCA spokeswoman Robyn Benken welcomed the Government decision today and said it was a victory for grass roots community campaigning. “It’s great it has been driven by a small community group that is very passionate about the weedy. “We have also been assisted by small dive organisations that have until now been unable to develop small tourist ventures around the weedy for fears the sea dragons would be taken,” Ms Benken said. Mr Moore said licensed operators would still be allowed to take wild weedy sea dragons from the ocean for use in the aquarium trade. He said commercial collection was monitored by the Department of Fisheries and this would continue to ensure catches remained at historically low levels. “This fishery has been assessed as sustainable, so it is important it continues to be managed sustainably and that this unique species is protected for future generations,” he said. Weedy sea dragons are found only in the waters of southern Australia and have been protected in every other State. *The West.com.au
Dingoes
Dingoes have become such a problem in the state's (Sth Australia) north that the local MP is calling for the introduction of a $200-a-head bounty. Farmers are warning the viability of some sheep farming could be at risk if dingo numbers continue to grow. Liberal MP for Stuart Dan van Holst Pellekaan has told Parliament the dingoes are "ravaging pastoral stock in SA below the dog fence" which is meant to keep them out of farming areas. "The difficulty with dingoes is they are extremely hard to shoot, to poison and to trap," Mr van Holst Pellekaan said. Dingoes are pushing south because the bumper season in the Outback is providing ideal breeding conditions. A property near Broken Hill has lost 3000 lambs to dingoes in the past two years. Dingoes are supposed to be kept out of pastoral areas by the 5320km dog fence, which runs from outside Brisbane to the Nullarbor Plain.
South of the fence, dingoes are prescribed pests which can be shot or baited. "I believe that we ought to have a system whereby people who shoot a dingo can claim a bounty from the government," Mr van Holst Pellekaan said. He said he believed the only people who should collect the bounty would be pastoralists with leases below the dog fence who were already taking part in other government programs for the culling of dingoes. SA Farmers' Federation president Peter White said reports from the pastoral country showed there could be as many as 200 dingoes breeding. "We have seen some substantial stock losses in some areas," he said. He welcomed the idea of a bounty, saying "anything we can do to reduce these numbers is certainly a good idea". If dingo numbers continued to grow, the viability of running sheep in some areas could be at risk. The Government is unlikely to support the move with Environment Department chief executive Allan Holmes saying four major studies on bounty systems in Australia had concluded they were flawed. He said Natural Resource Management boards were best placed to deal with regional problems of this sort and bounties were not one of the recommended methods. *SA News
Turtles
A university researcher says minority groups are overshadowing the debate about marine animal deaths near Gladstone in central Queensland. Almost 30 green turtles, and six dugongs and dolphins, have washed up dead in the area in the past few months. Conservationists are demanding a permanent ban on commercial net fishing near the Boyne River. Professor Jamie Seymour says people are drawing too many conclusions while evidence is being gathered. "It's really easy to blame somebody without any data, so it's really easy to stand up and go it's due to net fishing ... it's quite easy to argue that point but I don't know if it's that simple, these things seldom ever are and there's always other things that affect on top of that," Professor Seymour said. *ABC
Meanwhile, The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) says cold weather could be causing a spike in turtle deaths around Townsville in north Queensland. GBRMPA species conservation expert Dr Mark Read says turtles normally suffer in colder conditions but it is too early to know if that is the reason for the deaths. "In winter time when it starts to get really, really cold we do see animals start to be a little bit lethargic," he said. "Turtles are cold-blooded so their body temperature is controlled by the temperature of the ocean and the air. "With the drop in temperature in winter animals that might be sick or injured succumb to the cold." The Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM) began catching sick turtles yesterday to try and establish a cause for the deaths. Some researchers believe the phenomenon could be related to freshwater run-off from Cyclone Yasi in January. The Sea Turtle Foundation says the number of turtles washed-up is unprecedented. It is concerned there may be many more unreported turtle deaths at isolated beaches. Foundation project manager Julie Traweek says the information comes mainly come from popular beaches. "The ones that have been reported have been mainly from Pallarenda and on Magnetic Island," she said. "There are a lot of beaches in our area that are remote and aren't covered, so the one's we're hearing about are in the populated areas. "There's probably a lot more we're not hearing about." *ABC
Sawlogs go to China
Thousands of tonnes of high-quality sawlogs from Victoria's bushfire-devastated Central Highlands forests (near Healesville) are being secretly shipped to China, against state government policy, The Wilderness Society has revealed. "Whole sawlogs have never been exported from Victoria before, the practice has always been banned to protect Australian jobs in the local timber industry" said The Wilderness Society's Victorian Campaigns Manager Richard Hughes. "Governments of all stripes have always justified logging of native forests on the grounds that it creates jobs here in Victoria, but now even that pretence is being thrown out the door." "The mountain ash forests of the Central Highlands are essential habitat for the critically endangered Leadbeater's possum, which is threatened by logging." The Victorian Timber Industry Strategy states that all native forest sawlogs must be processed in Australia, and this is reflected in sales contracts between the state-owned timber company VicForests and timber buyers.
"VicForests is responsible for implementing the ban on whole log exports, but it appears they have allowed the system to be rorted. We find it very hard to believe that VicForests didn't know this was going on." "VicForests appear to be out of control on this issue. The State Government should immediately act to protect the Victorian environment and jobs by ordering VicForests to stop supplying logs to the operators of this export racket." "There should also be an immediate halt to the so-called bushfire salvage logging operation since there is clearly no economic benefit for Victoria, and it is causing major environmental damage." "The fact that the Victorian native timber industry has stooped to exporting whole sawlogs confirms that the domestic market for native sawlogs is drying up, and logging these forests is just not economically viable." "We should be accelerating the shift to a plantation based industry, not selling our precious forests overseas so log dealers can make a quick buck" said Mr Hughes.
An investigation by the Wilderness Society and My Environment discovered that the logs are being taken from forests in the Central Highlands affected by the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, and trucked to Melbourne's docks where they are loaded into containers for export. Expert scientists have criticised the bushfire salvage logging, saying it threatens the survival of the endangered Leadbeater's Possum, and is doing more damage to forests that are already struggling to recover from the fires. "When the post-bushfire salvage logging began, the Government told Victorians it had to be done to provide work for people in the local communities affected by the fires," said local conservationists and spokesperson for My Environment Sarah Rees. "Now we discover those communities have been betrayed, and the timber has been shipped overseas with very little benefit coming back to the local area." "We've sold our native forests, and the tiny Leadbeater's Possum for a handful of silver, nothing more," said Ms Rees. *Wilderness Society Media Release
Platypus
Global warming could shrink the habitat of Australia's duck-billed platypus by a third, researchers warned Friday, with hotter, drier temperatures threatening its survival. A confusion of bird, mammal and reptile characteristics, the timid platypus is one of Australia's most cryptic creatures, feeding at night and living in deep waterside burrows to dodge predators such as foxes and eagles. But its thick, watertight fur coat - one of the key tools to ensuring its survival in the cool depths of rivers and waterholes - could spell disaster in a warming climate, according to a new study from Melbourne's Monash University. Using weather and platypus habitat data stretching back more than 100 years, researchers were able to map declines in particular populations in connection with droughts and heat events. The team then extrapolated their findings across a range of climate change scenarios laid out by the government's science research agency, CSIRO, to model how global warming would affect the unusual native species. "Our worst case scenario at the moment suggested a one-third reduction in their suitable habitat," researcher Jenny Davis told AFP of the work published in the journal Global Change Biology.
Other human impacts, including land clearing and the damming of waterways for hydroelectric projects, had and would continue to diminish platypus homes, she added. "Under a drying climate we'll be taking more water away from the environment because of our human needs, and predators are going to become more of an issue for (the) platypus," she said. The most dire predictions suggested the platypus would disappear from Australia's mainland entirely, able only to live on Tasmania and the southern King and Kangaroo islands, said Davis. Davis said the nocturnal creature already appeared to be responding to increases in Australia's average temperature, with certain populations receding from the 1960s, when a warming trend first became evident. "Compared with 50 years ago some places have become too warm for them. Their habitat is shrinking," she said.Classed as "common but vulnerable", the platypus is already extinct in the wild in South Australia state, and Davis said she feared it could meet a similar fate to the Tasmanian devil, whose numbers had dwindled rapidly. "What could happen is that we could see a crash in an iconic animal and by the time that happens it's too late to do something about it," she said.
Platypus fur is finer and denser than that of a river otter or polar bear, and it has two layers: a long sleek outer and a woolly undercoat, ensuring it stays dry even when fully submerged in water. Their average body temperature is 32 degrees Celsius (89 Fahrenheit) - lower than most other mammals - and they overheat rapidly when exposed to warm conditions out of the water. Of most concern, however, is the drying up of waterways where they forage for aquatic invertebrates, with the platypus needing to eat about 30 percent of their own body weight every day to survive. Davis said the creature's demise was "just another warning sign" of global warming's impact on Australia's unique wildlife. *Independent on Sunday
South Australia's Agriculture Minister Michael O'Brien will push for a national fund to contain a parasitic weed in the Murray Mallee after a report found it cannot be eradicated. Branched broomrape was found near Bowhill in 1992 and some properties have been quarantined for more than a decade now. The report recommends abandoning eradication programs in favour of containment. Mr O'Brien says the weed will become a national problem unless it can be contained. "We don't have a funding regime, a national funding agreement, in place to deal with containment and I'm hoping within a couple of months we'll see a proposal that will allow us to move from eradication to containment with all of the states chipping in," he said. "I'll be looking at the industry groups that are the beneficiaries, which are the grain and horticultural industries on a national basis, to start making a contribution." A former state MP, Peter Lewis, says he helped Labor form government in South Australia in 2002 after a pledge to eradicate branched broomrape. "We eradicated TB in people, we've eradicated it in livestock, we can eradicate broomrape," he declared. Mr Lewis says a lack of political will is to blame. *ABC
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wildlife Bytes 22/6/11
Leading Story
ACT Kangaroos Set to Disappear
Based on the current kangaroo killing program of the ACT Government, the kangaroo is headed for complete eradication in the ACT, says kangaroo behaviourist Professor Steve Garlick. Professor Garlick has carried out more than 1500 kangaroo rescues, successfully rehabilitated more than 600 injured kangaroos and relocated more than 400 back to the wild, all on a voluntary basis. Animal Liberation ACT President Bernard Brennan states: ‘Through his day-to-day hands-on experience Professor Garlick probably knows more about the behaviour of the kangaroo than just about anyone.’ Professor Garlick said:
‘Using the ACT Government’s own data, and applying our intelligence about kangaroo fertility, development and morbidity, as well as the likely myopathy impact of the shooting, accidents and attacks, the residual 0.534 kangaroos per hectare the Government is aiming for in its current program of killing will mean kangaroo numbers in the six ACT reserves will never recover and will dwindle away to nothing over a surprisingly short time. In ten years I estimate there will be barely a few hundred kangaroos in total remaining in the ACT, assuming no more killing programs. As numbers continue to fall, other kangaroos will not migrate to the reserves from elsewhere, as poor planning has meant these reserves are fenced in, or bounded by major roads and suburbs.’ Mr Brennan added:
‘This target of 0.534 kangaroos per hectare is virtually half that identified by the ACT Government as sustainable in its evidence to the ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal several years ago, in the Government’s own Kangaroo Management Plan, and in the research of the ACT Government ecologist’. Animal Liberation ACT is concerned that the ACT Government’s reckless kangaroo slaughter not only raises the spectre of significant acts of violence being perpetrated on an iconic and gentle native animal and its young, but also threatens the kangaroos ultimate survival in the ‘bush capital’. ACTAL Media Release 17th June 2011
Editorial; We are working on some serious wildlife issues that we will report on in due course, but there is a lot of kangaroo news at the bottom of this edition of Wildlife Bytes. Meanwhile, for our many readers concerned about live exports, an Inquiry into improvements in animal welfare for Australian live export markets is being held. The Committee encourages the lodgement of submissions in electronic form. Submissions can be lodged via the Online Submission System which can be accessed at: https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions or can be sent by email to rat.sen@aph.gov.au
Ducks Unlimited Fined
New York regulators have ordered the conservation group Ducks Unlimited to pay $100,000 in penalties for breaking environmental laws during restoration of the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, a former military airport in Ulster County. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said contractors destroyed habitat for threatened species, excavated tons of dirt without a permit and failed to control runoff into tributaries of the Wallkill River. The Middletown Times Herald-Record reports that DEC ordered Ducks Unlimited to pay a $37,500 fine and set aside an additional $62,500 for an undetermined project to benefit the environment. A Ducks Unlimited spokeswoman said the group was "disheartened that this problem occurred." The work, initiated last May, was part of a $799,000 federal project to expand the grasslands by covering old runways with soil. *SeattlePI Ed Comment; Ducks Unlimited is a shooters organisation that rehabilitates wetlands so they can shoot that ducks that fly in!
Threats to Wildlife
Now you can go here and input your thoughts on the threats to our unique and diminishing wildlife..... http://wildlifetourism.org.au/discussions/threats-to-australian-wildlife/
Palm Oil
Malaysia has won its case against Australia's proposed Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil Bill. The Community Affairs Legislative Committee of the Australian Senate in Canberra has recommended that the Bill not be passed. Senator Claire Moore, who was the chair, said the committee is "not convinced that the issues surrounding the presence of palm oil in food products justify circumventing the existing food regulatory framework". "The committee considers that widespread and robust support from consumers, industry and conservation groups will be necessary to justify such intervention," Moore said. Independent senator Nick Xenophon moved for the Bill in late 2009. The committee said divisions were evident between industry bodies, between industry and consumer groups, and in some cases even between different conservation groups. "The committee is also concerned that, even were there strong support, intervention in this manner would cut across the current FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act) standards development process and state and territory laws," it said on the Australian Parliament website yesterday. *Business Times
Read more: Malaysia wins case against Aussie palm oil labelling Bill http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/rup01602/Article/#ixzz1PTjH0lT1
Mouse Bait Warning
There are concerns in South Australia that grain growers aren't doing the right thing when it comes to baiting mice. Biosecurity SA has warned that if wildlife are poisoned, those involved face fines of up to $35,000. Its rural chemicals operations manager, Michael McManus, says he's heard farmers are mixing illegal baits and laying overdoses of commercial baits, which he says is unacceptable. "The products registered for in the field use, they've been tested for those situations and that's not so much of a risk," he said. "Where it's, I guess, a higher risk is that people stack baits around their houses that aren't registered for that use and birds that have access to those out in the open pick up a sort of concentrated dose." *ABC
Ed Comment; It appears that the mouse bait manufacturers, ACT, said it had been struggling to produce enough for the farmers, claiming it is an unprecedented outbreak. ACT developed the bait under the government's Co-operative Research Centres (CRC program) that provides funding to develop solutions to challenges facing specific industries. *
Tigers
Malaysian wildlife officials rescued 32 tigers and a number of lions, along with other animals, from what they called on Tuesday a dirty and cramped private zoo. Zaaba Zainol Abidin, deputy director general of the wildlife and national parks department, said the animals, including 32 hybrid Siberian-Bengal tigers, were kept at the Saleng Zoo in southern Johor state in filthy conditions. "The design is bad. The water wasn't being changed, and it's so dirty. Even the droppings they didn't clean," he told AFP. The rescued animals are being transferred to a public zoo in Malacca and a wetland reserve in central Selangor state over several days, he said. He put the number of lions at eight or nine, and said crocodiles, bears and a black panther were also rescued after wildlife authorities refused to renew the zoo's permits to keep the mostly endangered animals. Zaaba said that the zoo had abused its permit in the past by purchasing an endangered tapir, a large forest-dwelling herbivorous mammal, from locals. Saleng zookeeper J. Sivapriyan said he opposed the seizure of the animals, adding that the enclosure for the animals was being enlarged. "I take care of the tigers, which are like my children," he told AFP. "I don't abuse the animals." Malaysia has pledged to better protect animals from abuse and illegal trade. A new wildlife law, which came into effect late last year, also aims to tighten control on zoos and circuses. Last year, Malaysia jailed Anson Wong, a rogue wildlife trader described as one of the world's most-wanted wildlife traffickers, for five years. *AFP
Meanwhile, Police in China who pulled over a vehicle involved in a hit and run accident were shocked to find a Siberian tiger in the boot. The 4WD vehicle had sped off after colliding with another car on a motorway near Yizhang in Hubei Province. Police intercepted it at the next toll gate, arrested the driver and then searched the vehicle. Officer Chen Yin said: "There was a strong stench coming from the boot so we opened it found something wrapped in a large canvas. "We unwrapped it and found a giant tiger sitting in a cage. We don't know why the man had it or where he was taking it but he didn't have any papers for it." Police are still investigating the case. The man remains in custody facing both motoring and wild animal offences. *Orange.co.uk
"Green" Politics
Queensland's Environment Minister Kate Jones will stand down from the Bligh Government ministry in a bid to fight the looming threat of LNP leader Campbell Newman in her inner Brisbane seat of Ashgrove. Jones today announced at a press conference in Ashgrove that she was stepping down to focus on her re-election campaign, saying she was "looking forward to a good, honest, clean contest". "He will have to fight me door to door, street to street, suburb to suburb, neighbourhood to neighbourhood in my community." "This is where I live, where I grew up and where I always want to be. " I want to make sure the people of Ashgrove continue to have someone who will serve them and stand up for our community. "There is no doubt the next election will be tough but I am determined to make sure this community has a strong voice." Ms Jones has held the inner Brisbane seat since 2006 but recent polls have suggested Mr Newman was poised to snatch victory. Sandgate MLA Vicki Darling is expected to replace Ms Jones as Environment Minister when Labor Caucus meets Monday afternoon. Nothing is expected to change under the new Minister. * WPAA
African Wildlife Disappearing
Major national parks and wildife reserves across Africa lost up to 60% of their lions, giraffes, buffalo and other large wild animals between 1970 and 2005, raising the spectre of wildlife on the continent soon being confined to isolated pockets dependent on international money for protection. Researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Cambridge studied animal population changes at 78 protected areas across Africa and found the steepest falls in west Africa, where up to 85% of wildlife had been lost in the last 35 years, and in east Africa, where nearly half of all wildlife has disappeared. The research, which was collated from parks including popular tourist safari destinations such as the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania, and published last year, found increases only in southern Africa. The cause of the continent-wide decline has been attributed mainly to the lack of money and people needed to police parks, as well as the encroachment of humans on animal habitats. In addition, war and the growing bushmeat trade is said to have decimated populations. *Guardian.uk Raed more ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/20/africa-declining-wildlife
Koalas
But for the red tag in her ear and some fading scars, Frodo looked like any other koala as she scampered up a towering eucalyptus tree. The moment marked a return to the wild for the furry critter who tugged on the state's heart strings when she was found blasted with shotgun pellets next to her dead mother last year. Since then, Frodo has staged a remarkable recovery, overcoming horrific injuries to be released back into the bush by her carers from the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Vet Amber Gillett, who nursed Frodo back from the brink, said their final goodbye on the Sunshine Coast was sweet, but emotional. There were moments when she didn't believe Frodo would pull through. Her injuries included a fractured skull and terrible internal injuries from 15 shotgun pellets found lodged in her tiny body. "Releasing Frodo back into the wild was a great feeling. She was such a special case," Dr Gillett said yesterday. "When Frodo was admitted, she was a very sick little girl and her chance of survival was unknown. "She was at risk for several months from succumbing to lead poisoning from the number of pellets in her tiny body. Luckily she overcame that." Australia Zoo rescue unit chief Brian Coulter said everything possible had been done to prepare Frodo for her new life back in the bush, including a period of minimal contact in the lead-up to her release. Frodo's carers aren't saying exactly when or where she was released. They are hoping they have seen the last of her and she will not again require their help. *Courier Mail Ed Comment; the offender who shot Frodo has never been found.
Climate Change
Overfishing and pollution putting fish, sharks and whales in extreme danger - with extinction 'inevitable', study finds. Fish, sharks, whales and other marine species are in imminent danger of an "unprecedented" and catastrophic extinction event at the hands of humankind, and are disappearing at a far faster rate than anyone had predicted, a study of the world's oceans has found. Mass extinction of species will be "inevitable" if current trends continue, researchers said. Overfishing, pollution, run-off of fertilisers from farming and the acidification of the seas caused by increasing carbon dioxide emissions were combining to put marine creatures in extreme danger, according to the report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, prepared at the first international workshop to consider all of the cumulative stresses affecting the oceans at Oxford University. *Age Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/shocking-state-of-oceans-threatens-mass-extinction-20110621-1gco9.html#ixzz1PwnQW3CK
Fishing
Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service and Marine Police are investigating the illegal fishing of gummy sharks from a protected area near Port Sorell. The remains of at least nine gummy sharks and unborn baby sharks were foundon the shore of the Rubicon river near Squeaking Point. Parks and Wildlife northern manager Chris Colley said the Rubicon was classified as a shark refuge area and taking them was illegal. The public is asked to call Fishwatch on 0427 655 557 with any information about that offence or any other fishing offences. *Mercury
Migaloo Spotted
The Far North's most famous aquatic holidaymaker is speeding along the humpback highway to get to the Great Barrier Reef. Migaloo, the world’s only known all-white humpback whale, was spotted swimming off the northern coast of Fraser Island on Sunday. He has joined a record number of humpbacks making their annual migration to the warm Reef water from Antarctica. Oskar Peterson, founder of the Gold Coast-based White Whale Research Centre, estimated it could take Migaloo between two or three weeks to reach Cairns. "Over the last couple of years, it hasn’t taken him long to get to Cairns and beyond," Mr Peterson said. Migaloo, an Aboriginal word for "white fella", was spotted off Port Douglas in mid-July last year. Mr Peterson believed the whale’s early appearance in Queensland waters may be a result of flooding on the mid-north coast of NSW. "He’s probably avoided all of the coastal areas of New South Wales because of the rain," he said. "He doesn’t like freshwater run-off, like most whales don’t." There are estimates at least 13,500 whales will head north this year, with the first humpbacks of the season seen by dive boats off Cairns late last month. *Cairns.com.au
Wildlife Road Toll
Animals are the forgotten victims of the road toll, states a leaflet urging Mornington Peninsula drivers to slow down and watch for wildlife. While the human road toll in Victoria stands at 294 so far this financial year -just two more than in 2009-10 - the brochure warns that native animals are being killed at unprecedented rates on the Mornington Peninsula, threatening the survival of some species. In an effort to arrest the carnage, the information pamphlet titled Speed kills wildlife too has been produced by the Australian Wildlife Protection Council and financed by Mornington Peninsula Shire. The AWPC says more than 6400 native animals were killed on Mornington Peninsula roads between October 2007 and February 2010, including 2500 birds, 1365 ringtail possums, 445 kangaroos, 322 koalas and 164 echidnas. Many die a slow, painful death and leave orphaned young which will also perish. As reported previously in the Weekly, almost all the koalas that end up in the refuge of Tyabb wildlife carer Jenny Bryant have been hit by cars and their numbers are increasing.
AWPC president Maryland Wilson said the massacre continued to rise along with traffic volumes on peninsula roads - "the situation for wildlife is absolutely dire". Rosebud-based ecologist Malcolm Legg, who worked on the pamphlet with AWPC, said animals were being run over throughout the peninsula, but especially near tracts of bushland such as Greens Bush, Devilbend Reservoir and state and national parks. He said roads transected ancient routes followed by animals to get to water and feeding and breeding grounds. Animals could also be attracted to roads to scavenge on dead animals and rubbish or, as in the case of reptiles, to bask on the warm bitumen. Mr Legg said motorists who found an injured animal should remove it from the road, if safe to do so, and call the 24-hour statewide Help for Wildlife on 0417380687. The pamphlet urges drivers to:
Be alert and take note of wildlife warning signs; Honk their horns to scare away animals; Move dead animals, if safe to do so, to discourage partners or scavenging animals becoming a road statistic; Slow down, particularly between dusk and dawn, when native animals are most active; Check the pouches of dead animals for live young; Refrain from littering as food scraps attracted animals to the road. The leaflet will be distributed throughout tourism and wildlife networks. To obtain copies, call Maryland Wilson on 59788570 or email kangaroo@hotkey.net.au *Peninsula Weekly
St Andrews residents are calling for motorists to slow down and stop the carnage on the township’s winding roads. Wildhaven wildlife carer Stella Reid said six kangaroos had died this month after being hit by cars in and around the town. She said motorists were constantly ignoring Heidelberg-Kinglake Rd’s 60km/h speed limit. “I do the limit along there and constantly get tooted off the road or have a car come right up behind me,” she said. “They then overtake and speed right past.” Caledonia St resident Nick Bean said he was awoken by a “long screech” and “dull thud” about 4.30am on May 30. He rushed outside to find a dying kangaroo on the road. “By the time I arrived the driver had gone. They didn’t even stop,” Mr Bean said. “This happens all too frequently. On Friday and Saturday nights you can get people going past doing more than 100km/h.” Mrs Reid said most drivers continued after hitting wildlife. She said a woman who stopped, on Buttermans Track in April, found a joey with a broken foot. Later named Buttercup, the joey survived but her mother died. “The lady said she was on the phone while speeding home about 11pm,” Mrs Reid said. “She wasn’t concentrating and would have stopped if she saw it.” Sgt Wayne Burton said police constantly monitored St Andrews with mobile radars. Residents with specific speeding issues should contact police. Details: 9438 8300. Have you seen wildlife killed on our roads? Spread the word at diamondvalleyleader.com.au *
Another death in WA last week from a motorcyclist hitting a kangaroo, and a death yesterday in the US from a motorcyclist hitting a turkey, has sparked concern about more need for motorcyclists to be aware of wildlife on the roads. But aside from effective clothing and safety gear one safety insructor says there is one key thing motorcyclists can practice that will help them avoid crashing into animals. He says motorcyclists need to practice their stopping skills on their motorcycle. Stopping a motorcycle involves hands and feet, all four of them working at once, and it's not the easiest thing to stop properly and safely, so it takes practice. Its also something that is not taught adequately in motorcylce riding courses. He says when you're driving a motorcycle you should be constantly scanning for animals, and if you see one start slowing down immediately, because animals can be unpredictable. Another safety instructor says if a motorcyclist is about to hit an animal, they should aim for the rear end, as the animal is probably trying to get off the road, and they rarely tun around. If it's going to be close, he says, aim for the rear end of the animal as it is the lightest section to hit, and generally animals wont turn around to avoid you. Once they get moving, they rarely turn around to go another direction (except for kangaroos, of course, they can bounce anywhere!) He also claims that excess speed in areas where wildlife may be is another factor. As an ex-motorcyclist who still hobbles around from hitting a horse on a motorcycle, this editor agrees that one of the most important safety issues for a motorcycle rider, is having the ability to stop a motorcycle quickly without crashing, and on all road surfaces.
Motorists left with expensive repair bills from collisions with wandering kangaroos around Tower Hill have been given a ray of hope by a lawyer’s opinion the state government may have to pay compensation. Western District Law Association president Tony Robinson ignited renewed interest in the debate by raising the question that Parks Victoria had a duty of care for the volcanic nature reserve and its native animal population. His comments follow community debate stirred by Moyne Shire Council mayor Jim Doukas this week who called for a cull of kangaroos and wallabies. He said they were overpopulated and crossing into the path of motorists on the Princes Highway and Tower Hill rim road. Mr Robinson, when asked by The Standard for an opinion, said although no compensation was available for motorists hitting kangaroos in the wild, it could be argued Tower Hill was different. “Maybe payment could be claimed against the state if they have care of the nature reserve where it might be said that numbers have been increasing and too many have been getting out,” he said. “Might there be a claim against the state?” Cr Doukas and police have told The Standard of at least 20 reported collisions involving native animals around Tower Hill in the past two years and believed others went unreported.
They want better fencing around the reserve and warned motorists to drive carefully. The shire last year rejected a police call for lower speed zones on the rim road, but local residents are raising the issue again with a petition at the Koroit Post Office calling for speed reductions. Cr Doukas’ comments published earlier this week claiming collisions with kangaroos were a bigger issue than wandering livestock angered Koroit mother-of-five Jo Quarrell, who spent five days in hospital after hitting cows at Illowa. She said yesterday the crash left her with neck and back injuries and a big bill to replace her wrecked vehicle. “Cr Doukas complained about bills for drivers hitting kangaroos, but I got no compensation for my vehicle hitting cows,” she said. “I understand the farmer was fined about $300 for his cattle escaping, but I was advised because his fences were in good order and the gate had been left open by a third party, he wouldn’t have to pay my damages. “Why should I have to pay my insurance excess. “I’m a single mum with five children and will have to buy another suitable vehicle. Ms Quarrell said if she drives around Tower Hill she knows there are kangaroos and slows down, “but you don’t expect to run into 12 cows in the middle of the highway at five-to-seven on a Friday night”. Mr Robinson and another Warrnambool lawyer, Adam Kempton, said there were avenues for motorists to pursue compensation for damage by stock.* Standard
Kangaroos
Parks Victoria has not ruled out culling kangaroos and wallabies at Tower Hill as it considers how to reduce safety risks for drivers on the perimeter road and Princes Highway. The issue made Standard headlines yesterday after Moyne Shire mayor Cr Jim Doukas said decisive action was needed to trim the population explosion of kangaroos and wallabies. As the edition hit breakfast tables a motorist crashed into a wallaby which bounded into his path on the Tower Hill rim road about 7am. The wallaby was killed on impact and the driver faces a repair bill of several hundred dollars. Ranger in charge, Ben Hammond, said his department was committed to reducing safety risks "where reasonably possible". "Parks Victoria is in co-operation with Moyne Shire, VicRoads, Department of Sustainability and Environment, wildlife carers and Victoria Police to progress towards better fencing, signage, speed reduction on local roads and logging of incidents," he said. "It is important to implement a variety of measures to reduce risks to drivers and culling would only be undertaken as part of a broader plan." In response to Cr Doukas' comparision with controls placed on farmers in keeping cattle off roads, Mr Hammon said "Australian wildlife is not uncommon in country areas and is the shared responsibility of the community, which is a different situation to managing livestock".
Koroit policeman Sergeant Pat McKinnon urged drivers to be cautious. He said police knew of about 20 crashes with wildlife near Tower Hill during the two years plus others that were not reported. "I've had several meetings with Parks Victoria and wrote to the shire about a reduced speed limit," Sergeant McKinnon said. "Advisory signs alerting drivers to kangaroos have been installed, but unfortunately some have been stolen. "In January a lady came within five metres of going over the side after swerving to avoid a roo." Cr Doukas yesterday said he had positive response in the community and from other councillors to his suggestion of culling. He took the issue a step further by suggesting if a cull was authorised the carcasses could be taken to an abattoir for processing. *Standard
NMIT Kangaroo Kill
Wildlife activists protesting against a kangaroo cull in Eden Park say they doubt the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE will reassess the kangaroo population, as advised by an independent consultant. NMIT was granted a permit by the Department of Sustainability and Environment to cull 300 kangaroos at its 320ha equine centre last October. EcoPlan Australia recommended the cull in a report after doing research in Eden Park. The report estimated 710 kangaroos were on the property, give or take 70, and suggested 900 kangaroos should be destroyed over three years. The EcoPlan management plan recommended the roo population should be counted annually in June or July. A spokeswoman for the Department of Sustainability and Environment, who did not want to be named, would not say whether the count would be conducted. “DSE has approved an Authority to Control Wildlife Permit for kangaroos at Eden Park,” she said. “The permit issued to NMIT is for 12 months. A new population assessment would need to be conducted at this site as part of the application for any future permits.”
NMIT again refused to comment on the issue, a stance it has maintained since October. The Australian Society for Kangaroos has maintained a four-month vigil around the NMIT boundary and has intervened at the first sign of shooting. Society spokeswoman Fiona Corke challenged the methods used by EcoPlan to determine the initial population. “(They) used transect lines, which means you walk down a line and take down how many kangaroos you see,” Ms Corke said. “Then they walk down another line and count, but who’s to say you’re not seeing the same kangaroos twice? “And this was done over three days, so these kangaroos may have been criss-crossing over the site. “We have very little faith in this count,” Ms Corke said. * Leader Make a comment here http://whittlesea-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bouncing-figures-around/
Canberra Kangaroo Doco
The ACT's kangaroo culls are to be brought to an international audience again with the release of a documentary about Canberra's roo population and the Government's attempt to control it. The film, Kangaroo Mob, is scheduled to be shown around Australia on ABC TV later this year and international distribution deals have already been signed. Local animal rights activists predict another outcry over the ACT Government's controversial culls when the film hits TV screens around the world. The film crew, from Melbourne production outfit 360 Degree Films, spent a year following a group of Canberra kangaroos, and the Territory and Municipal Services ecologists who track them. The crew followed a small group of eastern greys, part of the Government's tagging and tracking program, recording the animals' movements around the capital's nature parks and suburbs. ''Kangaroo Mob follows a few remarkable urban roos to provide a warm and entertaining look at what happens when human development encroaches and two very different species are forced to co-exist,'' the producers' pre-publicity says.
But the film crew found it impossible to avoid the annual cull. Promotional material for the film says the producers were initially given permission by the ACT Government to film last year's cull but consent was withdrawn. Producer Sally Ingleton said the crew's access to the cull was then reduced to following protesters around the city. Kangaroo Mob is being distributed internationally by National Geographic and has already been sold to TV stations in several European countries. More deals are expected. Animal Liberation ACT president and veteran anti-cull protester Bernard Brennan said international exposure would stir up sentiment against the cull. ''I think it's fantastic and this exposure is long overdue,'' he said. ''As you'll see in the documentary, the science behind the cull just doesn't stack up and they're killing our national emblem. 'The way they did it out in Belconnen; that's the worst massacre of wildlife I've seen.'' The activist said it might be an ''interesting evening'' if all the participants in the documentary, activist, ecologists and government officials, gathered in Canberra for a screening. ''The producers have promised that they would hold a screening for all the people who are in the film. But that might be an interesting evening, because there are some people there who don't want to be in the same room, ever,'' Mr Brennan said. *Canberra Times
Kangaroo Products
The next time you hop down to your nearest electronics store to buy a new pouch for your iPad, be aware it could be made from kangaroo. OK, so the new marsupial-based tablet case likely won't be appearing at your local Best Buy since it's considered a luxury item by its creator, an Australian man named Arnold Aranez who also blogs under the pseudonym of "Mr. Gadget." But the case will soon be available for $199.95 as the first of several device cases made out of kangaroo leather. In his statement touting the new kangaroo-based case, Aranez goes to great lengths to describe the virtues of using kangaroos as material for high-end device cases. "Very simply, kangaroo leather is the best-performing leather in the world," he writes. "In fact, the fiber structure of kangaroo leather is the strongest of any readily available leather." The press release then describes, without listing any citations, some "recent studies" that suggest "links between the kangaroo fiber matrix and that of birds and reptiles." The press release then states kangaroos' skins are particularly strong because they "needed to survive in the harshest environments against multiple predators," thus making kangaroo leather "ideally suited to shielding tablets and smartphones from the slings and arrows of modern life." *NetworkWorld http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061711-ipad-kangaroo.html?hpg1=bn
ACT Kangaroos Set to Disappear
Based on the current kangaroo killing program of the ACT Government, the kangaroo is headed for complete eradication in the ACT, says kangaroo behaviourist Professor Steve Garlick. Professor Garlick has carried out more than 1500 kangaroo rescues, successfully rehabilitated more than 600 injured kangaroos and relocated more than 400 back to the wild, all on a voluntary basis. Animal Liberation ACT President Bernard Brennan states: ‘Through his day-to-day hands-on experience Professor Garlick probably knows more about the behaviour of the kangaroo than just about anyone.’ Professor Garlick said:
‘Using the ACT Government’s own data, and applying our intelligence about kangaroo fertility, development and morbidity, as well as the likely myopathy impact of the shooting, accidents and attacks, the residual 0.534 kangaroos per hectare the Government is aiming for in its current program of killing will mean kangaroo numbers in the six ACT reserves will never recover and will dwindle away to nothing over a surprisingly short time. In ten years I estimate there will be barely a few hundred kangaroos in total remaining in the ACT, assuming no more killing programs. As numbers continue to fall, other kangaroos will not migrate to the reserves from elsewhere, as poor planning has meant these reserves are fenced in, or bounded by major roads and suburbs.’ Mr Brennan added:
‘This target of 0.534 kangaroos per hectare is virtually half that identified by the ACT Government as sustainable in its evidence to the ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal several years ago, in the Government’s own Kangaroo Management Plan, and in the research of the ACT Government ecologist’. Animal Liberation ACT is concerned that the ACT Government’s reckless kangaroo slaughter not only raises the spectre of significant acts of violence being perpetrated on an iconic and gentle native animal and its young, but also threatens the kangaroos ultimate survival in the ‘bush capital’. ACTAL Media Release 17th June 2011
Editorial; We are working on some serious wildlife issues that we will report on in due course, but there is a lot of kangaroo news at the bottom of this edition of Wildlife Bytes. Meanwhile, for our many readers concerned about live exports, an Inquiry into improvements in animal welfare for Australian live export markets is being held. The Committee encourages the lodgement of submissions in electronic form. Submissions can be lodged via the Online Submission System which can be accessed at: https://senate.aph.gov.au/submissions or can be sent by email to rat.sen@aph.gov.au
Ducks Unlimited Fined
New York regulators have ordered the conservation group Ducks Unlimited to pay $100,000 in penalties for breaking environmental laws during restoration of the Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, a former military airport in Ulster County. The state Department of Environmental Conservation said contractors destroyed habitat for threatened species, excavated tons of dirt without a permit and failed to control runoff into tributaries of the Wallkill River. The Middletown Times Herald-Record reports that DEC ordered Ducks Unlimited to pay a $37,500 fine and set aside an additional $62,500 for an undetermined project to benefit the environment. A Ducks Unlimited spokeswoman said the group was "disheartened that this problem occurred." The work, initiated last May, was part of a $799,000 federal project to expand the grasslands by covering old runways with soil. *SeattlePI Ed Comment; Ducks Unlimited is a shooters organisation that rehabilitates wetlands so they can shoot that ducks that fly in!
Threats to Wildlife
Now you can go here and input your thoughts on the threats to our unique and diminishing wildlife..... http://wildlifetourism.org.au/discussions/threats-to-australian-wildlife/
Palm Oil
Malaysia has won its case against Australia's proposed Truth in Labelling - Palm Oil Bill. The Community Affairs Legislative Committee of the Australian Senate in Canberra has recommended that the Bill not be passed. Senator Claire Moore, who was the chair, said the committee is "not convinced that the issues surrounding the presence of palm oil in food products justify circumventing the existing food regulatory framework". "The committee considers that widespread and robust support from consumers, industry and conservation groups will be necessary to justify such intervention," Moore said. Independent senator Nick Xenophon moved for the Bill in late 2009. The committee said divisions were evident between industry bodies, between industry and consumer groups, and in some cases even between different conservation groups. "The committee is also concerned that, even were there strong support, intervention in this manner would cut across the current FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act) standards development process and state and territory laws," it said on the Australian Parliament website yesterday. *Business Times
Read more: Malaysia wins case against Aussie palm oil labelling Bill http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/rup01602/Article/#ixzz1PTjH0lT1
Mouse Bait Warning
There are concerns in South Australia that grain growers aren't doing the right thing when it comes to baiting mice. Biosecurity SA has warned that if wildlife are poisoned, those involved face fines of up to $35,000. Its rural chemicals operations manager, Michael McManus, says he's heard farmers are mixing illegal baits and laying overdoses of commercial baits, which he says is unacceptable. "The products registered for in the field use, they've been tested for those situations and that's not so much of a risk," he said. "Where it's, I guess, a higher risk is that people stack baits around their houses that aren't registered for that use and birds that have access to those out in the open pick up a sort of concentrated dose." *ABC
Ed Comment; It appears that the mouse bait manufacturers, ACT, said it had been struggling to produce enough for the farmers, claiming it is an unprecedented outbreak. ACT developed the bait under the government's Co-operative Research Centres (CRC program) that provides funding to develop solutions to challenges facing specific industries. *
Tigers
Malaysian wildlife officials rescued 32 tigers and a number of lions, along with other animals, from what they called on Tuesday a dirty and cramped private zoo. Zaaba Zainol Abidin, deputy director general of the wildlife and national parks department, said the animals, including 32 hybrid Siberian-Bengal tigers, were kept at the Saleng Zoo in southern Johor state in filthy conditions. "The design is bad. The water wasn't being changed, and it's so dirty. Even the droppings they didn't clean," he told AFP. The rescued animals are being transferred to a public zoo in Malacca and a wetland reserve in central Selangor state over several days, he said. He put the number of lions at eight or nine, and said crocodiles, bears and a black panther were also rescued after wildlife authorities refused to renew the zoo's permits to keep the mostly endangered animals. Zaaba said that the zoo had abused its permit in the past by purchasing an endangered tapir, a large forest-dwelling herbivorous mammal, from locals. Saleng zookeeper J. Sivapriyan said he opposed the seizure of the animals, adding that the enclosure for the animals was being enlarged. "I take care of the tigers, which are like my children," he told AFP. "I don't abuse the animals." Malaysia has pledged to better protect animals from abuse and illegal trade. A new wildlife law, which came into effect late last year, also aims to tighten control on zoos and circuses. Last year, Malaysia jailed Anson Wong, a rogue wildlife trader described as one of the world's most-wanted wildlife traffickers, for five years. *AFP
Meanwhile, Police in China who pulled over a vehicle involved in a hit and run accident were shocked to find a Siberian tiger in the boot. The 4WD vehicle had sped off after colliding with another car on a motorway near Yizhang in Hubei Province. Police intercepted it at the next toll gate, arrested the driver and then searched the vehicle. Officer Chen Yin said: "There was a strong stench coming from the boot so we opened it found something wrapped in a large canvas. "We unwrapped it and found a giant tiger sitting in a cage. We don't know why the man had it or where he was taking it but he didn't have any papers for it." Police are still investigating the case. The man remains in custody facing both motoring and wild animal offences. *Orange.co.uk
"Green" Politics
Queensland's Environment Minister Kate Jones will stand down from the Bligh Government ministry in a bid to fight the looming threat of LNP leader Campbell Newman in her inner Brisbane seat of Ashgrove. Jones today announced at a press conference in Ashgrove that she was stepping down to focus on her re-election campaign, saying she was "looking forward to a good, honest, clean contest". "He will have to fight me door to door, street to street, suburb to suburb, neighbourhood to neighbourhood in my community." "This is where I live, where I grew up and where I always want to be. " I want to make sure the people of Ashgrove continue to have someone who will serve them and stand up for our community. "There is no doubt the next election will be tough but I am determined to make sure this community has a strong voice." Ms Jones has held the inner Brisbane seat since 2006 but recent polls have suggested Mr Newman was poised to snatch victory. Sandgate MLA Vicki Darling is expected to replace Ms Jones as Environment Minister when Labor Caucus meets Monday afternoon. Nothing is expected to change under the new Minister. * WPAA
African Wildlife Disappearing
Major national parks and wildife reserves across Africa lost up to 60% of their lions, giraffes, buffalo and other large wild animals between 1970 and 2005, raising the spectre of wildlife on the continent soon being confined to isolated pockets dependent on international money for protection. Researchers at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Cambridge studied animal population changes at 78 protected areas across Africa and found the steepest falls in west Africa, where up to 85% of wildlife had been lost in the last 35 years, and in east Africa, where nearly half of all wildlife has disappeared. The research, which was collated from parks including popular tourist safari destinations such as the Masai Mara in Kenya and the Serengeti in Tanzania, and published last year, found increases only in southern Africa. The cause of the continent-wide decline has been attributed mainly to the lack of money and people needed to police parks, as well as the encroachment of humans on animal habitats. In addition, war and the growing bushmeat trade is said to have decimated populations. *Guardian.uk Raed more ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/20/africa-declining-wildlife
Koalas
But for the red tag in her ear and some fading scars, Frodo looked like any other koala as she scampered up a towering eucalyptus tree. The moment marked a return to the wild for the furry critter who tugged on the state's heart strings when she was found blasted with shotgun pellets next to her dead mother last year. Since then, Frodo has staged a remarkable recovery, overcoming horrific injuries to be released back into the bush by her carers from the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Vet Amber Gillett, who nursed Frodo back from the brink, said their final goodbye on the Sunshine Coast was sweet, but emotional. There were moments when she didn't believe Frodo would pull through. Her injuries included a fractured skull and terrible internal injuries from 15 shotgun pellets found lodged in her tiny body. "Releasing Frodo back into the wild was a great feeling. She was such a special case," Dr Gillett said yesterday. "When Frodo was admitted, she was a very sick little girl and her chance of survival was unknown. "She was at risk for several months from succumbing to lead poisoning from the number of pellets in her tiny body. Luckily she overcame that." Australia Zoo rescue unit chief Brian Coulter said everything possible had been done to prepare Frodo for her new life back in the bush, including a period of minimal contact in the lead-up to her release. Frodo's carers aren't saying exactly when or where she was released. They are hoping they have seen the last of her and she will not again require their help. *Courier Mail Ed Comment; the offender who shot Frodo has never been found.
Climate Change
Overfishing and pollution putting fish, sharks and whales in extreme danger - with extinction 'inevitable', study finds. Fish, sharks, whales and other marine species are in imminent danger of an "unprecedented" and catastrophic extinction event at the hands of humankind, and are disappearing at a far faster rate than anyone had predicted, a study of the world's oceans has found. Mass extinction of species will be "inevitable" if current trends continue, researchers said. Overfishing, pollution, run-off of fertilisers from farming and the acidification of the seas caused by increasing carbon dioxide emissions were combining to put marine creatures in extreme danger, according to the report from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean, prepared at the first international workshop to consider all of the cumulative stresses affecting the oceans at Oxford University. *Age Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/environment/conservation/shocking-state-of-oceans-threatens-mass-extinction-20110621-1gco9.html#ixzz1PwnQW3CK
Fishing
Tasmania's Parks and Wildlife Service and Marine Police are investigating the illegal fishing of gummy sharks from a protected area near Port Sorell. The remains of at least nine gummy sharks and unborn baby sharks were foundon the shore of the Rubicon river near Squeaking Point. Parks and Wildlife northern manager Chris Colley said the Rubicon was classified as a shark refuge area and taking them was illegal. The public is asked to call Fishwatch on 0427 655 557 with any information about that offence or any other fishing offences. *Mercury
Migaloo Spotted
The Far North's most famous aquatic holidaymaker is speeding along the humpback highway to get to the Great Barrier Reef. Migaloo, the world’s only known all-white humpback whale, was spotted swimming off the northern coast of Fraser Island on Sunday. He has joined a record number of humpbacks making their annual migration to the warm Reef water from Antarctica. Oskar Peterson, founder of the Gold Coast-based White Whale Research Centre, estimated it could take Migaloo between two or three weeks to reach Cairns. "Over the last couple of years, it hasn’t taken him long to get to Cairns and beyond," Mr Peterson said. Migaloo, an Aboriginal word for "white fella", was spotted off Port Douglas in mid-July last year. Mr Peterson believed the whale’s early appearance in Queensland waters may be a result of flooding on the mid-north coast of NSW. "He’s probably avoided all of the coastal areas of New South Wales because of the rain," he said. "He doesn’t like freshwater run-off, like most whales don’t." There are estimates at least 13,500 whales will head north this year, with the first humpbacks of the season seen by dive boats off Cairns late last month. *Cairns.com.au
Wildlife Road Toll
Animals are the forgotten victims of the road toll, states a leaflet urging Mornington Peninsula drivers to slow down and watch for wildlife. While the human road toll in Victoria stands at 294 so far this financial year -just two more than in 2009-10 - the brochure warns that native animals are being killed at unprecedented rates on the Mornington Peninsula, threatening the survival of some species. In an effort to arrest the carnage, the information pamphlet titled Speed kills wildlife too has been produced by the Australian Wildlife Protection Council and financed by Mornington Peninsula Shire. The AWPC says more than 6400 native animals were killed on Mornington Peninsula roads between October 2007 and February 2010, including 2500 birds, 1365 ringtail possums, 445 kangaroos, 322 koalas and 164 echidnas. Many die a slow, painful death and leave orphaned young which will also perish. As reported previously in the Weekly, almost all the koalas that end up in the refuge of Tyabb wildlife carer Jenny Bryant have been hit by cars and their numbers are increasing.
AWPC president Maryland Wilson said the massacre continued to rise along with traffic volumes on peninsula roads - "the situation for wildlife is absolutely dire". Rosebud-based ecologist Malcolm Legg, who worked on the pamphlet with AWPC, said animals were being run over throughout the peninsula, but especially near tracts of bushland such as Greens Bush, Devilbend Reservoir and state and national parks. He said roads transected ancient routes followed by animals to get to water and feeding and breeding grounds. Animals could also be attracted to roads to scavenge on dead animals and rubbish or, as in the case of reptiles, to bask on the warm bitumen. Mr Legg said motorists who found an injured animal should remove it from the road, if safe to do so, and call the 24-hour statewide Help for Wildlife on 0417380687. The pamphlet urges drivers to:
Be alert and take note of wildlife warning signs; Honk their horns to scare away animals; Move dead animals, if safe to do so, to discourage partners or scavenging animals becoming a road statistic; Slow down, particularly between dusk and dawn, when native animals are most active; Check the pouches of dead animals for live young; Refrain from littering as food scraps attracted animals to the road. The leaflet will be distributed throughout tourism and wildlife networks. To obtain copies, call Maryland Wilson on 59788570 or email kangaroo@hotkey.net.au *Peninsula Weekly
St Andrews residents are calling for motorists to slow down and stop the carnage on the township’s winding roads. Wildhaven wildlife carer Stella Reid said six kangaroos had died this month after being hit by cars in and around the town. She said motorists were constantly ignoring Heidelberg-Kinglake Rd’s 60km/h speed limit. “I do the limit along there and constantly get tooted off the road or have a car come right up behind me,” she said. “They then overtake and speed right past.” Caledonia St resident Nick Bean said he was awoken by a “long screech” and “dull thud” about 4.30am on May 30. He rushed outside to find a dying kangaroo on the road. “By the time I arrived the driver had gone. They didn’t even stop,” Mr Bean said. “This happens all too frequently. On Friday and Saturday nights you can get people going past doing more than 100km/h.” Mrs Reid said most drivers continued after hitting wildlife. She said a woman who stopped, on Buttermans Track in April, found a joey with a broken foot. Later named Buttercup, the joey survived but her mother died. “The lady said she was on the phone while speeding home about 11pm,” Mrs Reid said. “She wasn’t concentrating and would have stopped if she saw it.” Sgt Wayne Burton said police constantly monitored St Andrews with mobile radars. Residents with specific speeding issues should contact police. Details: 9438 8300. Have you seen wildlife killed on our roads? Spread the word at diamondvalleyleader.com.au *
Another death in WA last week from a motorcyclist hitting a kangaroo, and a death yesterday in the US from a motorcyclist hitting a turkey, has sparked concern about more need for motorcyclists to be aware of wildlife on the roads. But aside from effective clothing and safety gear one safety insructor says there is one key thing motorcyclists can practice that will help them avoid crashing into animals. He says motorcyclists need to practice their stopping skills on their motorcycle. Stopping a motorcycle involves hands and feet, all four of them working at once, and it's not the easiest thing to stop properly and safely, so it takes practice. Its also something that is not taught adequately in motorcylce riding courses. He says when you're driving a motorcycle you should be constantly scanning for animals, and if you see one start slowing down immediately, because animals can be unpredictable. Another safety instructor says if a motorcyclist is about to hit an animal, they should aim for the rear end, as the animal is probably trying to get off the road, and they rarely tun around. If it's going to be close, he says, aim for the rear end of the animal as it is the lightest section to hit, and generally animals wont turn around to avoid you. Once they get moving, they rarely turn around to go another direction (except for kangaroos, of course, they can bounce anywhere!) He also claims that excess speed in areas where wildlife may be is another factor. As an ex-motorcyclist who still hobbles around from hitting a horse on a motorcycle, this editor agrees that one of the most important safety issues for a motorcycle rider, is having the ability to stop a motorcycle quickly without crashing, and on all road surfaces.
Motorists left with expensive repair bills from collisions with wandering kangaroos around Tower Hill have been given a ray of hope by a lawyer’s opinion the state government may have to pay compensation. Western District Law Association president Tony Robinson ignited renewed interest in the debate by raising the question that Parks Victoria had a duty of care for the volcanic nature reserve and its native animal population. His comments follow community debate stirred by Moyne Shire Council mayor Jim Doukas this week who called for a cull of kangaroos and wallabies. He said they were overpopulated and crossing into the path of motorists on the Princes Highway and Tower Hill rim road. Mr Robinson, when asked by The Standard for an opinion, said although no compensation was available for motorists hitting kangaroos in the wild, it could be argued Tower Hill was different. “Maybe payment could be claimed against the state if they have care of the nature reserve where it might be said that numbers have been increasing and too many have been getting out,” he said. “Might there be a claim against the state?” Cr Doukas and police have told The Standard of at least 20 reported collisions involving native animals around Tower Hill in the past two years and believed others went unreported.
They want better fencing around the reserve and warned motorists to drive carefully. The shire last year rejected a police call for lower speed zones on the rim road, but local residents are raising the issue again with a petition at the Koroit Post Office calling for speed reductions. Cr Doukas’ comments published earlier this week claiming collisions with kangaroos were a bigger issue than wandering livestock angered Koroit mother-of-five Jo Quarrell, who spent five days in hospital after hitting cows at Illowa. She said yesterday the crash left her with neck and back injuries and a big bill to replace her wrecked vehicle. “Cr Doukas complained about bills for drivers hitting kangaroos, but I got no compensation for my vehicle hitting cows,” she said. “I understand the farmer was fined about $300 for his cattle escaping, but I was advised because his fences were in good order and the gate had been left open by a third party, he wouldn’t have to pay my damages. “Why should I have to pay my insurance excess. “I’m a single mum with five children and will have to buy another suitable vehicle. Ms Quarrell said if she drives around Tower Hill she knows there are kangaroos and slows down, “but you don’t expect to run into 12 cows in the middle of the highway at five-to-seven on a Friday night”. Mr Robinson and another Warrnambool lawyer, Adam Kempton, said there were avenues for motorists to pursue compensation for damage by stock.* Standard
Kangaroos
Parks Victoria has not ruled out culling kangaroos and wallabies at Tower Hill as it considers how to reduce safety risks for drivers on the perimeter road and Princes Highway. The issue made Standard headlines yesterday after Moyne Shire mayor Cr Jim Doukas said decisive action was needed to trim the population explosion of kangaroos and wallabies. As the edition hit breakfast tables a motorist crashed into a wallaby which bounded into his path on the Tower Hill rim road about 7am. The wallaby was killed on impact and the driver faces a repair bill of several hundred dollars. Ranger in charge, Ben Hammond, said his department was committed to reducing safety risks "where reasonably possible". "Parks Victoria is in co-operation with Moyne Shire, VicRoads, Department of Sustainability and Environment, wildlife carers and Victoria Police to progress towards better fencing, signage, speed reduction on local roads and logging of incidents," he said. "It is important to implement a variety of measures to reduce risks to drivers and culling would only be undertaken as part of a broader plan." In response to Cr Doukas' comparision with controls placed on farmers in keeping cattle off roads, Mr Hammon said "Australian wildlife is not uncommon in country areas and is the shared responsibility of the community, which is a different situation to managing livestock".
Koroit policeman Sergeant Pat McKinnon urged drivers to be cautious. He said police knew of about 20 crashes with wildlife near Tower Hill during the two years plus others that were not reported. "I've had several meetings with Parks Victoria and wrote to the shire about a reduced speed limit," Sergeant McKinnon said. "Advisory signs alerting drivers to kangaroos have been installed, but unfortunately some have been stolen. "In January a lady came within five metres of going over the side after swerving to avoid a roo." Cr Doukas yesterday said he had positive response in the community and from other councillors to his suggestion of culling. He took the issue a step further by suggesting if a cull was authorised the carcasses could be taken to an abattoir for processing. *Standard
NMIT Kangaroo Kill
Wildlife activists protesting against a kangaroo cull in Eden Park say they doubt the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE will reassess the kangaroo population, as advised by an independent consultant. NMIT was granted a permit by the Department of Sustainability and Environment to cull 300 kangaroos at its 320ha equine centre last October. EcoPlan Australia recommended the cull in a report after doing research in Eden Park. The report estimated 710 kangaroos were on the property, give or take 70, and suggested 900 kangaroos should be destroyed over three years. The EcoPlan management plan recommended the roo population should be counted annually in June or July. A spokeswoman for the Department of Sustainability and Environment, who did not want to be named, would not say whether the count would be conducted. “DSE has approved an Authority to Control Wildlife Permit for kangaroos at Eden Park,” she said. “The permit issued to NMIT is for 12 months. A new population assessment would need to be conducted at this site as part of the application for any future permits.”
NMIT again refused to comment on the issue, a stance it has maintained since October. The Australian Society for Kangaroos has maintained a four-month vigil around the NMIT boundary and has intervened at the first sign of shooting. Society spokeswoman Fiona Corke challenged the methods used by EcoPlan to determine the initial population. “(They) used transect lines, which means you walk down a line and take down how many kangaroos you see,” Ms Corke said. “Then they walk down another line and count, but who’s to say you’re not seeing the same kangaroos twice? “And this was done over three days, so these kangaroos may have been criss-crossing over the site. “We have very little faith in this count,” Ms Corke said. * Leader Make a comment here http://whittlesea-leader.whereilive.com.au/news/story/bouncing-figures-around/
Canberra Kangaroo Doco
The ACT's kangaroo culls are to be brought to an international audience again with the release of a documentary about Canberra's roo population and the Government's attempt to control it. The film, Kangaroo Mob, is scheduled to be shown around Australia on ABC TV later this year and international distribution deals have already been signed. Local animal rights activists predict another outcry over the ACT Government's controversial culls when the film hits TV screens around the world. The film crew, from Melbourne production outfit 360 Degree Films, spent a year following a group of Canberra kangaroos, and the Territory and Municipal Services ecologists who track them. The crew followed a small group of eastern greys, part of the Government's tagging and tracking program, recording the animals' movements around the capital's nature parks and suburbs. ''Kangaroo Mob follows a few remarkable urban roos to provide a warm and entertaining look at what happens when human development encroaches and two very different species are forced to co-exist,'' the producers' pre-publicity says.
But the film crew found it impossible to avoid the annual cull. Promotional material for the film says the producers were initially given permission by the ACT Government to film last year's cull but consent was withdrawn. Producer Sally Ingleton said the crew's access to the cull was then reduced to following protesters around the city. Kangaroo Mob is being distributed internationally by National Geographic and has already been sold to TV stations in several European countries. More deals are expected. Animal Liberation ACT president and veteran anti-cull protester Bernard Brennan said international exposure would stir up sentiment against the cull. ''I think it's fantastic and this exposure is long overdue,'' he said. ''As you'll see in the documentary, the science behind the cull just doesn't stack up and they're killing our national emblem. 'The way they did it out in Belconnen; that's the worst massacre of wildlife I've seen.'' The activist said it might be an ''interesting evening'' if all the participants in the documentary, activist, ecologists and government officials, gathered in Canberra for a screening. ''The producers have promised that they would hold a screening for all the people who are in the film. But that might be an interesting evening, because there are some people there who don't want to be in the same room, ever,'' Mr Brennan said. *Canberra Times
Kangaroo Products
The next time you hop down to your nearest electronics store to buy a new pouch for your iPad, be aware it could be made from kangaroo. OK, so the new marsupial-based tablet case likely won't be appearing at your local Best Buy since it's considered a luxury item by its creator, an Australian man named Arnold Aranez who also blogs under the pseudonym of "Mr. Gadget." But the case will soon be available for $199.95 as the first of several device cases made out of kangaroo leather. In his statement touting the new kangaroo-based case, Aranez goes to great lengths to describe the virtues of using kangaroos as material for high-end device cases. "Very simply, kangaroo leather is the best-performing leather in the world," he writes. "In fact, the fiber structure of kangaroo leather is the strongest of any readily available leather." The press release then describes, without listing any citations, some "recent studies" that suggest "links between the kangaroo fiber matrix and that of birds and reptiles." The press release then states kangaroos' skins are particularly strong because they "needed to survive in the harshest environments against multiple predators," thus making kangaroo leather "ideally suited to shielding tablets and smartphones from the slings and arrows of modern life." *NetworkWorld http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/061711-ipad-kangaroo.html?hpg1=bn
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Wildlife Bytes 14/6/11
Leading Stories
ACT Government planners fear any attempt to make money from culled kangaroo carcasses could unleash the fury of animal rights protesters and endanger the whole control program. And the Government would have to kill at least 8000 of the animals each week to establish a viable trade in meat or hides, according to a Territory and Municipal Services report. TAMS planners wrote that the next option, joining the NSW trade in kangaroo products, would cost $250,000 in the first year for a return of just $25,000. But the real fear is the reaction of animal rights activists to any perceived attempt by the Government to generate revenue from the carcasses produced during its annual culling program. More than 3400 kangaroos, the largest number in several years, are expected to be shot this month in six nature reserves around Canberra with the carcasses disposed of by the usual method of burial. The officials that wrote the report, in response to a motion in the Legislative Assembly, also fear that a commercial element to the cull might weaken the Government's case if protesters mounted a legal challenge.
The report's authors wrote that the culling program had a ''a clear easily defensible objective'', the protection of the territory's grasslands by managing grazing pressure. 'If the program was perceived by animal rights groups as having a secondary objective of revenue generation it would likely be subject to more intense scrutiny and protest action, threatening the delivery of the program,'' the authors wrote. The TAMS officials are worried that selling carcasses or products might make the ACT the focus of the national animal rights movement, which is bitterly opposed to trade in kangaroo products. ''Commercial kangaroo harvesting is a strong focus of animal rights organisations opposed to any killing of kangaroos,'' the officials wrote. ''A commercial operation in the ACT would be likely to draw publicity out of all proportion to the numbers involved as the national capital provides a symbolic location to project opposition to the industry.'' The officials also believe that the main method of disposal in NSW commercial operations, with the animal's head and intestines removed and left on the spot where the kangaroo has fallen, would not be acceptable in the ACT.
The commercial prospects of going into the kangaroo business are even less promising for the government, according to TAMS, with the international market in kangaroo meat collapsing after the withdrawal of Russia, previously the biggest export market, from the trade. Commercial kangaroo shooters in NSW are now being paid about 70c a kilogram for carcasses and fewer than than 400,000 animals were harvested in the state last year under a system that allows one million of the beasts to be slaughtered. An attempt to join the market would have to involve becoming part of the NSW South-East Commercial Harvest Zone. The officials also believe that the main method of disposal in NSW commercial operations, with the animal's head and intestines removed and left on the spot where the kangaroo has fallen, would not be acceptable in the ACT. *Canberra Times
Ed comment; What a lot of nonsense! The Blame Game continues. The real reason they cant get a commercial Industry up in the ACT is because it would be very difficult for the following reasons:
1. Under the EPBC Act to export wildlife products, there would be two difficult and lengthy community processes to go through, one for the ACT itself, and another for the Federal Government, who would in the end have to approve a commercial kangaroo Industry in the ACT. Both consultation processes would be very bitterly opposed by the animal welfare groups. In the unlikely event that the Feds approved such an Industry at the end of the day, it would be appealed by the community groups, firstly in the Federal AAT, then if necessary in the Federal Court. The ACT Government planners know this.
2. The Labor/Green ACT Government is very unpopular with the Labor/Green Federal Government because of the very bad publicity given to previous kangaroo kills, which reflected badly on the Feds. who could have stopped the kills at Belconnen and Majura, but chose not to. The ACT Greens are also very unpopular with the Federal Greens, for the same reasons, their support for the kangaroo killing has badly impacted on the Federal Greens too.....many people have told us they will never vote Green again after the ACT Greens supported the ACT kangaroo killing. Under these circumstances, neither the ACT Greens or the Labor Federal Government would make any effort to facilitate an ACT commercial kangaroo Industry. But its easier for the ACT Government to blame the Animal Welfare groups!
3. Some poeple have said the kangaroo carcases from the kill should be fed to the big cats at Canberra Zoo, but our understanding is that big cats in Zoo's have to fed meat approved for human consumption...the Canberra Parks kangaroos are being shot from utes, and not from vehicles approved for human consumption kills, which would make the whole process much more expensive. And the Canberra Zoo has said it doesnt want the kangaroo carcases anyway. But, congratulations and good luck to the local groups and individuals who are protesting and putting the heat on the whole unnecessary, bizarre, and disgusting ACT kangaroo kill program.
ACT Kangaroo Activists
Animal Liberation ACT will be holding a candle light vigil outside the legislative assembly in the city in Canberra on Wednesday the 15th at 5pm to demonstrate against the kangaroo kill. Please come along and show your support. For more information contact Bernie on 0427 777 044 OR Lara on 0402 599 293. Ed Comment; Good work everyone, I'd love to be there, but I can't be everywhere unfortunately. *
Animal Liberation activists disrupted a government contracted cull of kangaroos in the Mount Painter region in Canberra last night. A member of the public spotted an ACT ranger vehicle entering the park and escorting a 4 WD vehicle. Activists were alerted and entered the park after shooting began about 7 pm. The shooters were using night vision equipment. A group of activists approached the shooters in darkness, while another group used spotlights to disrupt the shooting. Activists encountered two men in a 4wd vehicle parked on a hill. They had been shooting downhill close to the suburbs. When the men were disturbed they called the police. A large contingent of ACT coppers searched the area for activists without success, and the cull was called off for the night. The ACT government has ordered the cull of 3500 kangaroos in ACT Nature Parks over the coming three weeks. Now it appears that they (the ACT Government) counted kangaroo scats to arrive at a total estimated number of kangaroos in the ACT Parks, arguably the single most inaccurate method of determining kangaroo numbers. It's now known that the ACT Government has also decided to kill all these kangaroos because they consider that there should only be one kangaroo per hectare....any more than that is a plague......according to them! *Network Item
As shooting is reported to have started in Canberra last night, The Australian Society for Kangaroos is calling on the ACT government to publicly reveal the science behind their slaughter of thousands of kangaroos and joeys on public land. Nikki Sutterby from Australian Society for Kangaroos announced; “Around 10,000 kangaroos and their joeys have been killed on public land in the ACT in the last three years alone in the name of science, yet the ACT government has failed to provide any science to prove this is necessary”. “I have been through every reference in their Kangaroo Management Plan, and the ACT government has no credible science to support these culls, and the Canberra public deserves to know this”. In an ABC 666 radio interview with ACT Parks and Conservation district manager Daniel Iglesias last week, Mr Iglesias refused to answer questions about the number of kangaroos actually in ACT nature parks currently closed for shooting and how the joeys of shot females would be killed. “Why wouldn't Mr Iglesias answer the question about the actual number kangaroos in these nature parks? Does the ACT government not know how many kangaroos are in the nature parks, or are they killing a significant proportion of the population and hiding this from the public,”
said Ms Sutterby today. "Mr Iglesias also avoided questions about how the joeys will be killed this year. If he claims kangaroos have bred a lot, there will be a lot of joeys, and therefore a lot of joeys being killed. So we are looking at around 1000-1500 joeys being decapitated, shot and orphaned, on top of 3427 kangaroos this month alone. So in fact the ACT government will destroy close to 5000 kangaroos in public nature parks in Canberra this month in the name of science, but in the absence of science.” said Nikki Sutterby today. You can listen this 666 radio interview below:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/02/3233396.htm?site=canberra *ASK Media Release
New Species
A new species of worm has been found at a goldmine in South Africa living 1.6 km underground. The worm, a nematode, lives in deep hot dark areas, living on underground bacteria on rock walls. Four species of worms have so far been found. Another unknown nematode species was discovered living 3.6 km underground, in temperatures of up to 48 degrees C. *WPAA
Central Queensland Waterways
Anyone who lives or works in the Fitzroy Basin (Central Queensland) is being asked to take 10 minutes to share their views on local waterways. This vital feedback will help FBA coordinate the development of a new monitoring partnership that will provide better public access to information about the health of the local waterways.
Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTMP68Z
Mary River Turtle: yesterday, today, tomorrow...
Tiaro Landcare is funding 10 tracking devices which were attached to one year old Mary River turtles (endangered) and their movements are being monitored by researchers from the University of Qld. After 10 years of working to increase the juvenile population, we have the opportunity to learn about their behaviour in the river. You can follow the project by checking out the 'turtle blog' on Tiaro Landcare's website: http://.www.maryriverturtle.com To help fund Tiaro Landcare turtle research activities, the group have published a book called "Mary River Turtle: yesterday, today, tomorrow..." by Samantha Flakus and Marilyn Connell. This publication can be purchased from the Landcare Queensland bookshop via the link below and all proceeds will go towards supporting landcare in Queensland. * Landcare
Kangaroos
''You could say Australia's first real export commodity was its natural history,'' says Richard Neville, the Mitchell librarian at the State Library. ''The First Fleet ships returning to England were stuffed full of natural history specimens and Aboriginal artefacts.'' Take the first live kangaroo that survived the long sea voyage to London, Mr Neville says. ''That was in 1790 and it was said to be worth £500. By 1800 so many kangaroos had been shipped to England, the price had fallen to £10.'' Considering that the average salary for an experienced specimen collector in NSW was then only £95 a year, ''you get a sense of the excitement and curiosity'' such discoveries of exotic wildlife created in the markets of Europe. Even a humble Australian parrot would cost a London collector two guineas (£2 and 2 shillings) in 1798.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/early-birds-which-fly-off-the-page-20110606-1fpdy.html#ixzz1OZAB27q3
A concerned Coffs Coast animal lover has urged motorists to make sure they have the WIRES hotline number in their mobile phone in case they hit native animals on our roads. Linda Boudain’s plea comes after an incident last week, where a kangaroo was hit by a car in Heritage Park, and the driver simply drove off. “I just couldn’t believe someone could leave this poor animal in the middle of the road,” Ms Baudain said. “For me to watch that animal drag itself helplessly off the road, it was just a pain to watch, the poor thing. “All it took was one phone call to Wires and they had carers on the scene 13 minutes later. “Nothing could be done to save the poor kangaroo, but at least it wasn’t left to suffer anymore,” she said. Distressed by the incident, Ms Baudain was invited to the home of WIRES carer Arlene Hope to see some of the many eastern grey joeys she raises. “Unfortunately we see kangaroos hit by cars almost weekly,” Ms Hope said. “A lot of our joeys are removed from the pouches of female kangaroos that are hit. “That’s why it’s so important people phone us if they are involved in an accident with a kangaroo,” she said. To report an incident call 1300 WIRES or 1300 094 737. *Coffs Coast Advocate
Voiceless
The extreme ill-treatment of animals, which is routine in factory farming, does not make those who care for animals "extreme", says Brian Sherman, co-founder and managing director of animal protection think tank Voiceless. Mr Sherman made the comment during a speech at a fund-raising function, Voices of Art 2: An Evening Of Art For Animals, held by the group on Wednesday. To laughter from the well-heeled audience, he referred to a speech by Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Borsak in the NSW Parliament on May 11 in which Mr Borsak referred to Voiceless as an "extreme animal rights group". "I'd like to frame my talk tonight with a reference from a recent speech in the NSW Parliament by Shooters and Fishers Party MLC, Robert Borsak," Mr Sherman said. "Mr Borsak referred to Voiceless as an 'extreme animal rights group'. The sad irony is that Voiceless works to alleviate a phenomenon that really is extreme: the terrible suffering of billions of our fellow sentient beings in intensive animal factories." Mr Borsak had told Parliament that there was "a growing practice of extreme animal rights organisations trying to buy credibility for their views by exploiting universities' reliance on private sector funding". "Sadly, we need look no further than the University of Technology, Sydney - my old alma mater, though I studied in the faculty of business studies, a faculty that dwells in the real world of commerce, money and employment - to see how this duplicitous practice is spreading," Mr Borsak said. "The University of Technology, Sydney, now harbours a so-called think tank for research into kangaroos, which sounds like a laudable undertaking. But who is behind the group? Let me tell the House. This so-called think tank is funded by none other than Voiceless, one of the most well-funded and extreme animal rights groups in the country."
Read more ... http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/sherman-fires-back-at-borsak-over-extreme-label/2170102.aspx?storypage=0
Crocodiles
A 4.1m saltwater croc has been captured in a creek in Litchfield National Park. The beast was removed from the permanent crocodile trap located in Cascade Falls Creek by rangers yesterday. The upper section of Cascades is a designated safe swimming area open all year around as its location at the top of Cascade Falls prevents saltwater crocodiles entering the area. "It would be hard for them to climb into those areas," said NT Ranger Robbie Risk. But, the creek where it was captured is not accessible for swimming, Mr Risk said. *NTNews
Fraser Island Dingoes
The State Government is using satellite tracking collars to help manage dingoes on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland. As many as 20 dingoes will wear the collars during the eight-month study. Andrea Leverington from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service says the collars will help track numbers and movement patterns and to locate dens. "If we can tell from the tracking that a dingo seems to be in trouble, we can automatically release that collar," she said. "In terms of its weight, the collars are less than 5 per cent of the body weight of a dingo, so this is best practice wildlife management that we're using." However, Fraser Island tour guide Mark Norman believes the collars are too heavy for the dingoes. Mr Norman recently saw one of the dingoes wearing a collar. "With the battery packs and so on and the antennas I thought wow this ... certainly looks very uncomfortable," he said. "The way the dingo was holding its head, it was fairly low and it was sort of moving along fairly slowly and it just looked like it was being restricted - its movements were being inhibited." *ABC
Ed Comment; there has been a lot of controversy over these collars. DERM claims they want the dingoes left alone, not fed or interfered with, but then they trap them, tag them, and put these stupid tracking collars on them...and for what purpose? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2uTqL68V20 Watch this video of a dingo caught in a leg trap and ask yourself what the heck the Government are doing. And you ask yourself why the RSPCA condone this as acceptable " worlds best practice, " as Minister Kate Jones keeps saying.
Pet Reptiles
40,000 confirmed cases of human salmonellosis are reported every year in the U.S., resulting in nearly 400 deaths. And pet reptiles, with their ability to carry about 200 different types of salmonella (all of which can make you sick), are a known source of human exposure. Unfortunately, while reptiles often carry salmonella around in their guts, knowing whether they’re liable to infect you isn’t easy. So you can’t know whether any bearded dragon you might buy at the pet store has it or not before taking it home. And if it does carry salmonella, there’s no way to be 100 percent safe from its ability to shed the bacteria in its feces. That’s because salmonella bacteria are not always identifiable when you test a given animal. *Network Item
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/11/2260254/leaping-lizards-could-this-birthday.html#ixzz1P2erWRHN
Koalas
It is a shocking sight to break the heart and raise the hackles of Coast koala crusader Murray Chambers – a logged native forest, which he believes is vital to the survival of Peregian's local population of struggling marsupials. On private land just west of the Emu Mountain Rd motorway section north of Murdering Creek Rd, large trees have for weeks lain where they were cut down in this koala habitat area. For Murray, who makes up one half of Sunshine Coast Koala Wildlife Rescue with brother Ray, the tangled swathe of sawn and broken tree trunks and limbs is a possible koala death sentence. “Any clearing around here should be a no-no – these are koala food trees,” he said, after inspecting logged trees he estimated to be decades old. The land is believed to be part of 155 hectares private parcel on either side of the roadway, which was knocked back as a site for a 1200-lot residential development in 2008. Clearing on the other side of the road attracted concerns from Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa MP Glen Elmes in 2009. “One of the big blokes there has got to be an 80-year-old tree – they have cut down the really big trees,” Mr Chambers said. “Noosa is in big enough trouble now with their koalas without this. “Noosa is special because it still has what a lot of other places on the Coast have lost – its koalas. But that is not going to last long at this rate. “Whoever gave permission for this to happen should be sacked. They should be picking up papers on the beach.” Mr Chambers said this apparent sanctioned logging operation was a demonstration of how governments at all levels were ignoring the plight of the koala. *Sunshine Coast Daily
Another Kangaroo Kill Mooted
Moyne (Victoria) Shire mayor Jim Doukas has hopped into an environmental minefield by suggesting kangaroos and wallabies at Tower Hill be culled to reduce overpopulation. He said there were too many of the native animals being killed on the perimeter road around the reserve. Dozens of kangaroos and wallabies feed on grass beside the road from dusk each evening. One local resident estimated there could be hundreds there some evenings. "They are overpopulated - it's as simple as that," Cr Doukas told The Standard yesterday while commenting on numerous road crashes involving native animals and livestock. "There's so much feed outside the fence the roos and wallabies just hop over. "We wrote to Parks Victoria a few weeks ago asking them to do something about the situation, but I haven't seen a reply yet. There needs to be better fencing and reduced numbers of the animals." His comments followed questions by The Standard about the shire's responsibility in making sure farmers keep livestock from escaping onto roads.
Last Wednesday night a person was taken to hospital after two cars hit at least six cattle on the Cobden-Warrnambool Road near Laang speedway. On May 27 a Koroit woman was injured after hitting 12 head of cattle on the Princes Highway at Illowa and there was another incident involving livestock on May 16 near the Penshurst-Hamilton Road intersection. Police said it was the responsibility of shire bylaws officers to prosecute farmers who allowed stock to escape. Cr Doukas said there was sometimes difficulty in determining ownership of livestock. “Most farmers take care to keep fencing in good order and I don’t think are going to deny their responsibility,” he said. “If you look at the number of farms and livestock in this district incidences of vehicles hitting stock is fairly small. “There are just as many accidents with roos and wallabies, but who’s going to be accountable for that?
“The government should be held responsible for its animals. “With roos, drivers know there’s nothing they can do to seek damages and just limp away or call a tow truck. “One day there will be a fatality around Tower Hill if a driver swerves into another vehicle to avoid an animal or they go over the side.” Wildlife Victoria regional co-ordinator Tracey Wilson of Koroit, suggested the shire do more to press for a speed reduction from 100km/h to 80km/h on the southern end of Tower Hill road. She agreed better fencing may help contain native animals within the reserve, but she did not want to enter into debate on Cr Doukas’ call for culling. Ms Wilson has been alerted to numerous instances this year of wildlife being hit by passing vehicles around Tower Hill, but said yesterday the accident rate seemed to have declined recently. * Warrnambul Standard
Climate Change
Climate change will deliver a death sentence for millions of birds in southwest Queensland and the loss of other species in the Wet Tropics, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Mulga Lands and central Queensland. A disturbing report prepared for the Environment Department by independent scientist Tim Low, on Queensland's biodiversity and climate change, found those regions were particularly vulnerable to changes in rainfall and temperature. The Courier-Mail understands that as a consequence of the report, Climate Change and Queensland Biodiversity, about $4 million will go towards preparing a biodiversity strategy. The measure will be announced in Tuesday's State Budget. The strategy will help various groups build connected ecosystems for threatened species, such as cassowaries. Mr Low said deaths in heatwaves were a natural event but they would become worse with climate change, and particularly if high temperatures coincided with drought. "A heatwave striking after drought-induced dieback of trees could cause catastrophic loss of birds and mammals because there would be little shade to provide shelter," Mr Low said in the report.
He warned that if critically important eucalypts were to be protected, Queensland had to save long-range pollinators such as flying foxes, lorikeets and migratory honeyeaters. Eucalypts could not adapt like northern hemisphere species, so although planting bush corridors helped, it should not be seen as the main strategy in ensuring their survival. Mr Low said Queenslanders had to radically alter the way they thought about helping species adapt. "A mistake we have made is relying too much on northern hemisphere thinking," he said. "We get a lot of our ideas out of Europe and they are not always appropriate for our conditions." Eucalypts did not spread much during past ice ages but survived in pockets, unlike trees in the northern hemisphere that tended to "march" back and forth as the climate changed, he said. Environment Minister Kate Jones said it was obvious many ecosystems, plants and animals would be under threat if climate impacts were not managed. "This report is a reminder that we all share the responsibility of ensuring our wildlife and environment is protected," Ms Jones said. *Courier Mail
Ed comment, The report is welcomed, but getting the Queensland Government to act on it is another thing!
Two Headed Fish
An investigation has found no definitive link between farm chemicals and two-headed fish at a Queensland hatchery. The government set up a taskforce in 2009 to investigate fish health problems, including deaths and deformities, at the Sunland Fish Hatchery near Noosa. On Wednesday, the 20-member taskforce delivered its final majority view that there was not enough evidence to prove the chemicals had caused deformities, including three-tailed fish, and other problems. But two vets who were part of the taskforce disagreed, and believed there was a link. Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Tim Mulherin told reporters such investigations were always complex and it was difficult to identify a specific cause. "It was alleged that these issues, and broader problems associated with the Noosa River, were caused by chemical spray drift from an adjoining macadamia farm," he said. "Overall, the investigation found that there was no definitive link between chemicals and the events that occurred at the hatchery or in the Noosa River.
"While agricultural chemicals may be a contributing factor in some of the events that were investigated, other factors like fish diseases and parasites, water quality, past environmental contaminants and hatchery management practices cannot be ruled out as the primary cause." Hatchery owner Gwen Gilson has blamed chemical drift from the nearby macadamia farm for the deformities. She has been unavailable for comment. However, macadamia farmer Troy Ziesemer has said chemical use on the property always complied with best practice, and denied it was to blame. Dale Cliff, Mr Ziesemer's lawyer, told AAP the report "entirely vindicates" his client. "From the report there's no direct causal connection," he said. "Nor the quantity of chemicals sprayed by my client, were of such a level that in the view of the taskforce, caused any of the issues at the hatchery." "He has taken all reasonable measures to prevent any of his chemicals going onto the hatchery." *Courier Mail
Quolls
Tasmanian researcher Shannon Troy had some high-tech gadgets at her disposal as she trapped and then tracked the rare spotted-tailed quoll at Woolnorth this year. But the main tool she needed was patience. The University of Tasmania zoology department PhD candidate caught a lot more Tasmanian devils than her target species in the 10 weeks. But eventually, she trapped enough mature adult female quolls to study the foraging and denning habits of the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials, using a VHF transmitter and GPS locators. Ms Troy said the aim of her study was to learn more about critical quoll habitat and potential threats to its survival, such as loss of vegetation and the establishment of a fox population in Tasmania. "The best estimate we have is that there were about 6000 mature adult spotted-tailed quolls in Tasmania in 1996," Ms Troy said. "The quoll, which is bigger than the Eastern quoll, is listed as rare in Tasmania but endangered on the mainland.
"While the local quoll population has to deal with habitat loss and the poisoning of animals it does not have to deal with an established fox population." An adult quoll weighs up to 2.7kg and is a little larger than a domestic cat. Ms Troy hoped what she has learned would bridge the gap in knowledge about the solitary marsupials. In the first project of its kind in Tasmania, Ms Troy caught and then slipped a collar on the quolls. A VHF transmitter attached to the collar sent a signal that allowed the animals to be tracked to their dens. Nineteen male quolls were trapped before Ms Troy and her research team of a French intern and two volunteers one Canadian and one American caught a female big enough to collar. Ms Troy found that while spotted-tailed quolls shared their food with devils and smaller quolls, there was a lot of prey to go around in Tasmania and a lot of tree hollows and burrows for dens. She said every effort was needed to stop further loss of quoll habitat and local populations joining interstate counterparts on the endangered list. *Mercury
GBR Webcam
Marine scientists are hoping the installation of a permanent underwater camera on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland will give them an insight into the daily life of coral and other sea creatures. Researchers plan to use snapshots of life underwater to answer questions about the real time effects of rising temperatures and coral bleaching. The pictures are not just for science, as anyone can view them online here:
http://data.aims.gov.au/aimsrtds/webcams.xhtml?site=4
At Davies Reef in the waters off Townsville in north Queensland, a cluster of coral and the fish that swim past it are set to become famous. Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have set up an unmanned webcam to study what is happening beneath the surface. AIMS spokesman Dr Ray Berkelmans says it is a technological first. "It's trained on a coral bommie with some lovely plate corals and really the idea for this camera is to give us real time feedback as to what the conditions of the corals are," he said. "We've been very good at and very sophisticated at predicting coral bleaching but what we don't have is real time feedback of what the corals are actually doing so this is kind of closing the loop for us." The area is photographed every 15 minutes and the images are then made available online.
Dr Berkelmans says those photos will help scientists to verify the direct effects of coral bleaching. "You can have warm temperatures but very cloudy days and it won't bleach nearly as quickly as when there is no cloud and lots of sunlight coming in," he said. "There's a multitude of factors and this will help us improve our predictions." He says it is not just the coral which are under the lens, as tropical fish are sharing the limelight too. "There is a certain colony and individuals of fish that seem to hang around that bommie a lot," he said. "Pretty much those fish are in the picture all the time so I think we'd be able to build up a good database about fish behaviour. "It's the sort of thing that's very hard to do on scuba." *ABC
Camels for Climate Change?
An Australian land management consultant has proposed killing large numbers of wild camels in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to global warming. The proposal, one of several in an initiative to be debated in the Australian parliament next week, posits that eliminating the camels would generate carbon credits, which industry could then purchase to offset their carbon emissions. Northwest Carbon proposes to shoot the animals or round them up for slaughter, with the resulting meat processed for animal or human consumption. Camels were imported to Australia in the mid 19th century, where they were used for transport across the vast, arid interior portions of the continent. When no longer needed, they were set loose. Nature took her course and now there are about 1.2 million feral camels in the country. The ruminants are highly destructive "pests" and each camel emits about 100 pounds of the greenhouse gas methane each year.
Because of its high reliance on coal-powered energy, Australia has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels of any country, and the nation is looking at many ways to address the issue. But is camel-culling a costly diversion from more effective measures? Bloomberg quotes Tony Owen, academic director of University College London’s School of Energy and Resources in Adelaide, Australia:“It sounds like a high-cost way of curbing emissions. We’ve really got to move into the big league where we look at life changing technology.” The Australian legislature is engaged in a fierce debate over the Labor government's proposal to introduce a fixed price on carbon emissions--a carbon tax--on large industrial polluters by July 2012. Polls show Australians are bitterly divided on the subject; many fear the tax will further harm the economy, while thousands rallied in support of the tax around the country last Sunday. *Care2
Go here to vote no to kill camels ... http://www.care2.com/causes/global-warming/blog/carbon-credits-for-camel-killing/
Wildlife Smuggling
A Californian reptile salesman who attempted to smuggle 15 live Australian lizards into the US by strapping them to his chest should be jailed for 10 months, prosecutors have told an American judge. Michael Plank, 41, was stopped by US customs officers at Los Angeles international airport moments after he stepped off his United Airlines flight from Sydney on November 17, 2009. A pat-down search found money belts strapped to Plank's chest "stuffed" with two geckos, two monitor lizards and 11 skinks. Plank entered a guilty plea to a smuggling charge last year and US District Court judge Otis D Wright will sentence him on July 11. "There is simply no better way to discourage wildlife smugglers than to send out the message that smuggling wildlife will result in prison time," US prosecutors submitted in a filing to the judge yesterday. Prosecutors labelled Plank's smuggling attempt as "animal cruelty" and asked for a 10 month jail sentence, a $US2000 fine and three years probation. Australian customs officials estimate the 15 lizards are worth between $20,000 to $25,000. Plank, owner of US-based Big Game Reptiles, made 12 trips to Australia between November 2006 and November 2009, raising suspicions he had smuggled other Australian animals. The illegal trafficking of wildlife is estimated to be worth $US20 billion a year and ranks as the fourth most valuable illicit economy in the world behind drugs, arms and human trafficking, prosecutors told the court. The lizards are being held at San Diego Zoo.
Stuffed into four suitcases at Bangkok international airport last week were 450 rare and endangered turtles - and they were immediately seized by officials. But the discovery highlights growing concern over animal poaching in Asia. A previous find at the same airport included four leopard cubs, a bear cub, a monkey and a red-cheeked gibbon. In a separate case, a Bengal tiger cub was seized. Further arrests have been made across the border, where Laos and Cambodia have struck deals with Vietnam in an effort to curb poaching and protect what is left of their wildlife. Scientists are warning that up to half South-East Asia's wildlife will disappear this century if authorities fail to curb the smuggling rackets. It appears that the warnings are being heard, and understood. Malaysia is leading a bid to save the Sumatran rhinoceros - in serious danger of extinction, with perhaps just 15 to 30 left on the east coast of north Borneo. Tony Lamb, who has worked the Malaysian agricultural and horticultural departments for 40 years, told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific: "There were people who came in unseen, unnoticed and would camp for three months in the forests and find the territories of the rhinos and then dig traps. "And basically they would sell everything - the rhino hide, the horn. So that's why rhinos are now down to something like 15 or so."
Malaysia has achieved much in rescuing orang-utans and pigmy elephants from extinction. Shark fishing has also been banned and many Chinese restaurants are refusing to sell shark fin soup. But hundreds of other species are still in a precarious position. Lamb said: "It's been a matter of demand for their parts especially in China and Thailand. "So the sun bears for their gall bladders were hunted very, very heavily and they're now really threatened. "The same for the pangolins. that were exported out for medicine in China and other parts of Asia. "I think the dugongs were a similar thing that they were also prized for their tusks for medicinal purposes." Sridhar Lakshmana, managing trustee for the Base Camp Social Research Foundation, said south-eastern Indian marine life is under threat, with dugongs, turtles and sharks popular among poachers who on sell to China and Japan. He said: "What I think the international community can do is to have a much more coordinated effort, to see who are the final end consumers." The poachers were only local fishermen, and hard to apprehend, he said. "I don't think it's possible to achieve any of this without the contribution of the community and raising awareness levels within the community that I would say should be the focus if you really want to clamp down. "Just looking at it as a law and order problem and putting people behind bars will just make the trade more secret."
Tuna Wars Update
Tuna fishermen confronted environmentalists on the Mediterranean on Saturday, as activists attempted to disrupt illegal tuna fishing under the no-fly zone north of Libya. The fishermen attacked the Steve Irwin, owned by the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, by hurling heavy metal chain links aboard. They also attempted to lay a rope in front of the activists' boat, hoping to disable it. Environmentalists responded with water from fire hoses and stink bombs. Several hundred feet above the fray circled a French fighter jet, summoned by the fishermen -- who claimed, falsely, that activist divers were trying to cut their net. The 59.5-metre Steve Irwin, named after the Australian conservationist who died in 2006, left the Sicilian port of Syracuse early Friday, heading for a rendezvous with a smaller, faster sister ship, the Brigitte Bardot, just north of Libyan waters. The Bardot had traversed the area and reported that more than 20 purse seiners were operating there. Purse seiners are boats that deploy large nets that draw closed like a purse, ensnaring the tuna. The fish are then sometimes put in floating net-cages and slowly towed to port.
Sea Shepherd is on a mission to disrupt boats that are fishing illegally or have exceeded their quotas. The stock of bluefin tuna, which spawn in the Mediterranean and then swim out to the North Atlantic, has been depleted to the point that some experts fear it will soon collapse. The confrontation began to take shape at first light as the sun lifted and blazed a bright white stripe across the sea. Ten purse seiners floated several miles from the Steve Irwin in one direction, with five floating in the other. The ship's crew are true believers in their cause with vegan fare solely served on board. Yet Captain Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd founder, and other ships officers say they only go after boats that are fishing illegally -- if they are not allotted a quota by ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or have exceeded it -- or their catch includes too many juveniles.
As the Steve Irwin approached the group of five boats to determine their identities and inspect their catch Saturday, high stakes maneuvering began at close quarters. The boats were Tunisian, at least one was not licensed to fish -- according to the Irwin's crew -- and they did not respond to radio calls. The Sea Shepherd environmentalists -- who have no official enforcement powers -- deployed a small launch to inspect the cage, while the Tunisians suddenly scrambled two, then three small dinghies to protect their net. Others tried to cut off the Steve Irwin or chase it away. Fishermen in the larger boats threw heavy links of chain at the environmentalists -- hitting no one, but eventually forcing the dinghies to retreat without being able to determine if there were tuna in the cage. A larger Tunisian boat pulled along the port side of the Steve Irwin and the crew pelted the environmentalists with chain links. The crew of the Irwin responded with stink bombs containing, they said, rancid butter.
A Tunisian dinghy also towed a rope in front of the Steve Irwin, hoping it would get tangled in the propeller and disable the ship. Meanwhile, the cries of the Tunisians could be overheard radioing the French military for help, saying environmentalist divers were in the water trying to cut their nets. That was not the case. However, the Sea Shepherd volunteers are prepared to do exactly that to free the tuna, if they determine the fishing to have been illegal -- and they have done it in the past. The Irwin's officers deemed sending in divers at this point too dangerous. The Tunisians were aggressive, and they had deployed divers to protect their cage -- which could have led, in effect, to hand-to-hand combat in the sea. A French military jet appeared on the scene in short order and flew over the area at an altitude of a couple of hundred feet as the drama unfolded below. Eventually, the Steve Irwin broke off contact so it could continue to research whether the fishing was illegal. Ships officers said at least one of the boats had no quota assigned. Watson and other officers on the Irwin said they found the Tunisian's behavior suspicious. The crew of the environmentalists' ship was making more inquiries and coordinating with the Brigitte Bardot, and at midday Saturday, the possibility of more confrontation loomed. *CTVNews
ACT Government planners fear any attempt to make money from culled kangaroo carcasses could unleash the fury of animal rights protesters and endanger the whole control program. And the Government would have to kill at least 8000 of the animals each week to establish a viable trade in meat or hides, according to a Territory and Municipal Services report. TAMS planners wrote that the next option, joining the NSW trade in kangaroo products, would cost $250,000 in the first year for a return of just $25,000. But the real fear is the reaction of animal rights activists to any perceived attempt by the Government to generate revenue from the carcasses produced during its annual culling program. More than 3400 kangaroos, the largest number in several years, are expected to be shot this month in six nature reserves around Canberra with the carcasses disposed of by the usual method of burial. The officials that wrote the report, in response to a motion in the Legislative Assembly, also fear that a commercial element to the cull might weaken the Government's case if protesters mounted a legal challenge.
The report's authors wrote that the culling program had a ''a clear easily defensible objective'', the protection of the territory's grasslands by managing grazing pressure. 'If the program was perceived by animal rights groups as having a secondary objective of revenue generation it would likely be subject to more intense scrutiny and protest action, threatening the delivery of the program,'' the authors wrote. The TAMS officials are worried that selling carcasses or products might make the ACT the focus of the national animal rights movement, which is bitterly opposed to trade in kangaroo products. ''Commercial kangaroo harvesting is a strong focus of animal rights organisations opposed to any killing of kangaroos,'' the officials wrote. ''A commercial operation in the ACT would be likely to draw publicity out of all proportion to the numbers involved as the national capital provides a symbolic location to project opposition to the industry.'' The officials also believe that the main method of disposal in NSW commercial operations, with the animal's head and intestines removed and left on the spot where the kangaroo has fallen, would not be acceptable in the ACT.
The commercial prospects of going into the kangaroo business are even less promising for the government, according to TAMS, with the international market in kangaroo meat collapsing after the withdrawal of Russia, previously the biggest export market, from the trade. Commercial kangaroo shooters in NSW are now being paid about 70c a kilogram for carcasses and fewer than than 400,000 animals were harvested in the state last year under a system that allows one million of the beasts to be slaughtered. An attempt to join the market would have to involve becoming part of the NSW South-East Commercial Harvest Zone. The officials also believe that the main method of disposal in NSW commercial operations, with the animal's head and intestines removed and left on the spot where the kangaroo has fallen, would not be acceptable in the ACT. *Canberra Times
Ed comment; What a lot of nonsense! The Blame Game continues. The real reason they cant get a commercial Industry up in the ACT is because it would be very difficult for the following reasons:
1. Under the EPBC Act to export wildlife products, there would be two difficult and lengthy community processes to go through, one for the ACT itself, and another for the Federal Government, who would in the end have to approve a commercial kangaroo Industry in the ACT. Both consultation processes would be very bitterly opposed by the animal welfare groups. In the unlikely event that the Feds approved such an Industry at the end of the day, it would be appealed by the community groups, firstly in the Federal AAT, then if necessary in the Federal Court. The ACT Government planners know this.
2. The Labor/Green ACT Government is very unpopular with the Labor/Green Federal Government because of the very bad publicity given to previous kangaroo kills, which reflected badly on the Feds. who could have stopped the kills at Belconnen and Majura, but chose not to. The ACT Greens are also very unpopular with the Federal Greens, for the same reasons, their support for the kangaroo killing has badly impacted on the Federal Greens too.....many people have told us they will never vote Green again after the ACT Greens supported the ACT kangaroo killing. Under these circumstances, neither the ACT Greens or the Labor Federal Government would make any effort to facilitate an ACT commercial kangaroo Industry. But its easier for the ACT Government to blame the Animal Welfare groups!
3. Some poeple have said the kangaroo carcases from the kill should be fed to the big cats at Canberra Zoo, but our understanding is that big cats in Zoo's have to fed meat approved for human consumption...the Canberra Parks kangaroos are being shot from utes, and not from vehicles approved for human consumption kills, which would make the whole process much more expensive. And the Canberra Zoo has said it doesnt want the kangaroo carcases anyway. But, congratulations and good luck to the local groups and individuals who are protesting and putting the heat on the whole unnecessary, bizarre, and disgusting ACT kangaroo kill program.
ACT Kangaroo Activists
Animal Liberation ACT will be holding a candle light vigil outside the legislative assembly in the city in Canberra on Wednesday the 15th at 5pm to demonstrate against the kangaroo kill. Please come along and show your support. For more information contact Bernie on 0427 777 044 OR Lara on 0402 599 293. Ed Comment; Good work everyone, I'd love to be there, but I can't be everywhere unfortunately. *
Animal Liberation activists disrupted a government contracted cull of kangaroos in the Mount Painter region in Canberra last night. A member of the public spotted an ACT ranger vehicle entering the park and escorting a 4 WD vehicle. Activists were alerted and entered the park after shooting began about 7 pm. The shooters were using night vision equipment. A group of activists approached the shooters in darkness, while another group used spotlights to disrupt the shooting. Activists encountered two men in a 4wd vehicle parked on a hill. They had been shooting downhill close to the suburbs. When the men were disturbed they called the police. A large contingent of ACT coppers searched the area for activists without success, and the cull was called off for the night. The ACT government has ordered the cull of 3500 kangaroos in ACT Nature Parks over the coming three weeks. Now it appears that they (the ACT Government) counted kangaroo scats to arrive at a total estimated number of kangaroos in the ACT Parks, arguably the single most inaccurate method of determining kangaroo numbers. It's now known that the ACT Government has also decided to kill all these kangaroos because they consider that there should only be one kangaroo per hectare....any more than that is a plague......according to them! *Network Item
As shooting is reported to have started in Canberra last night, The Australian Society for Kangaroos is calling on the ACT government to publicly reveal the science behind their slaughter of thousands of kangaroos and joeys on public land. Nikki Sutterby from Australian Society for Kangaroos announced; “Around 10,000 kangaroos and their joeys have been killed on public land in the ACT in the last three years alone in the name of science, yet the ACT government has failed to provide any science to prove this is necessary”. “I have been through every reference in their Kangaroo Management Plan, and the ACT government has no credible science to support these culls, and the Canberra public deserves to know this”. In an ABC 666 radio interview with ACT Parks and Conservation district manager Daniel Iglesias last week, Mr Iglesias refused to answer questions about the number of kangaroos actually in ACT nature parks currently closed for shooting and how the joeys of shot females would be killed. “Why wouldn't Mr Iglesias answer the question about the actual number kangaroos in these nature parks? Does the ACT government not know how many kangaroos are in the nature parks, or are they killing a significant proportion of the population and hiding this from the public,”
said Ms Sutterby today. "Mr Iglesias also avoided questions about how the joeys will be killed this year. If he claims kangaroos have bred a lot, there will be a lot of joeys, and therefore a lot of joeys being killed. So we are looking at around 1000-1500 joeys being decapitated, shot and orphaned, on top of 3427 kangaroos this month alone. So in fact the ACT government will destroy close to 5000 kangaroos in public nature parks in Canberra this month in the name of science, but in the absence of science.” said Nikki Sutterby today. You can listen this 666 radio interview below:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/02/3233396.htm?site=canberra *ASK Media Release
New Species
A new species of worm has been found at a goldmine in South Africa living 1.6 km underground. The worm, a nematode, lives in deep hot dark areas, living on underground bacteria on rock walls. Four species of worms have so far been found. Another unknown nematode species was discovered living 3.6 km underground, in temperatures of up to 48 degrees C. *WPAA
Central Queensland Waterways
Anyone who lives or works in the Fitzroy Basin (Central Queensland) is being asked to take 10 minutes to share their views on local waterways. This vital feedback will help FBA coordinate the development of a new monitoring partnership that will provide better public access to information about the health of the local waterways.
Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTMP68Z
Mary River Turtle: yesterday, today, tomorrow...
Tiaro Landcare is funding 10 tracking devices which were attached to one year old Mary River turtles (endangered) and their movements are being monitored by researchers from the University of Qld. After 10 years of working to increase the juvenile population, we have the opportunity to learn about their behaviour in the river. You can follow the project by checking out the 'turtle blog' on Tiaro Landcare's website: http://.www.maryriverturtle.com To help fund Tiaro Landcare turtle research activities, the group have published a book called "Mary River Turtle: yesterday, today, tomorrow..." by Samantha Flakus and Marilyn Connell. This publication can be purchased from the Landcare Queensland bookshop via the link below and all proceeds will go towards supporting landcare in Queensland. * Landcare
Kangaroos
''You could say Australia's first real export commodity was its natural history,'' says Richard Neville, the Mitchell librarian at the State Library. ''The First Fleet ships returning to England were stuffed full of natural history specimens and Aboriginal artefacts.'' Take the first live kangaroo that survived the long sea voyage to London, Mr Neville says. ''That was in 1790 and it was said to be worth £500. By 1800 so many kangaroos had been shipped to England, the price had fallen to £10.'' Considering that the average salary for an experienced specimen collector in NSW was then only £95 a year, ''you get a sense of the excitement and curiosity'' such discoveries of exotic wildlife created in the markets of Europe. Even a humble Australian parrot would cost a London collector two guineas (£2 and 2 shillings) in 1798.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/early-birds-which-fly-off-the-page-20110606-1fpdy.html#ixzz1OZAB27q3
A concerned Coffs Coast animal lover has urged motorists to make sure they have the WIRES hotline number in their mobile phone in case they hit native animals on our roads. Linda Boudain’s plea comes after an incident last week, where a kangaroo was hit by a car in Heritage Park, and the driver simply drove off. “I just couldn’t believe someone could leave this poor animal in the middle of the road,” Ms Baudain said. “For me to watch that animal drag itself helplessly off the road, it was just a pain to watch, the poor thing. “All it took was one phone call to Wires and they had carers on the scene 13 minutes later. “Nothing could be done to save the poor kangaroo, but at least it wasn’t left to suffer anymore,” she said. Distressed by the incident, Ms Baudain was invited to the home of WIRES carer Arlene Hope to see some of the many eastern grey joeys she raises. “Unfortunately we see kangaroos hit by cars almost weekly,” Ms Hope said. “A lot of our joeys are removed from the pouches of female kangaroos that are hit. “That’s why it’s so important people phone us if they are involved in an accident with a kangaroo,” she said. To report an incident call 1300 WIRES or 1300 094 737. *Coffs Coast Advocate
Voiceless
The extreme ill-treatment of animals, which is routine in factory farming, does not make those who care for animals "extreme", says Brian Sherman, co-founder and managing director of animal protection think tank Voiceless. Mr Sherman made the comment during a speech at a fund-raising function, Voices of Art 2: An Evening Of Art For Animals, held by the group on Wednesday. To laughter from the well-heeled audience, he referred to a speech by Shooters and Fishers Party MP Robert Borsak in the NSW Parliament on May 11 in which Mr Borsak referred to Voiceless as an "extreme animal rights group". "I'd like to frame my talk tonight with a reference from a recent speech in the NSW Parliament by Shooters and Fishers Party MLC, Robert Borsak," Mr Sherman said. "Mr Borsak referred to Voiceless as an 'extreme animal rights group'. The sad irony is that Voiceless works to alleviate a phenomenon that really is extreme: the terrible suffering of billions of our fellow sentient beings in intensive animal factories." Mr Borsak had told Parliament that there was "a growing practice of extreme animal rights organisations trying to buy credibility for their views by exploiting universities' reliance on private sector funding". "Sadly, we need look no further than the University of Technology, Sydney - my old alma mater, though I studied in the faculty of business studies, a faculty that dwells in the real world of commerce, money and employment - to see how this duplicitous practice is spreading," Mr Borsak said. "The University of Technology, Sydney, now harbours a so-called think tank for research into kangaroos, which sounds like a laudable undertaking. But who is behind the group? Let me tell the House. This so-called think tank is funded by none other than Voiceless, one of the most well-funded and extreme animal rights groups in the country."
Read more ... http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/sherman-fires-back-at-borsak-over-extreme-label/2170102.aspx?storypage=0
Crocodiles
A 4.1m saltwater croc has been captured in a creek in Litchfield National Park. The beast was removed from the permanent crocodile trap located in Cascade Falls Creek by rangers yesterday. The upper section of Cascades is a designated safe swimming area open all year around as its location at the top of Cascade Falls prevents saltwater crocodiles entering the area. "It would be hard for them to climb into those areas," said NT Ranger Robbie Risk. But, the creek where it was captured is not accessible for swimming, Mr Risk said. *NTNews
Fraser Island Dingoes
The State Government is using satellite tracking collars to help manage dingoes on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland. As many as 20 dingoes will wear the collars during the eight-month study. Andrea Leverington from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service says the collars will help track numbers and movement patterns and to locate dens. "If we can tell from the tracking that a dingo seems to be in trouble, we can automatically release that collar," she said. "In terms of its weight, the collars are less than 5 per cent of the body weight of a dingo, so this is best practice wildlife management that we're using." However, Fraser Island tour guide Mark Norman believes the collars are too heavy for the dingoes. Mr Norman recently saw one of the dingoes wearing a collar. "With the battery packs and so on and the antennas I thought wow this ... certainly looks very uncomfortable," he said. "The way the dingo was holding its head, it was fairly low and it was sort of moving along fairly slowly and it just looked like it was being restricted - its movements were being inhibited." *ABC
Ed Comment; there has been a lot of controversy over these collars. DERM claims they want the dingoes left alone, not fed or interfered with, but then they trap them, tag them, and put these stupid tracking collars on them...and for what purpose? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2uTqL68V20 Watch this video of a dingo caught in a leg trap and ask yourself what the heck the Government are doing. And you ask yourself why the RSPCA condone this as acceptable " worlds best practice, " as Minister Kate Jones keeps saying.
Pet Reptiles
40,000 confirmed cases of human salmonellosis are reported every year in the U.S., resulting in nearly 400 deaths. And pet reptiles, with their ability to carry about 200 different types of salmonella (all of which can make you sick), are a known source of human exposure. Unfortunately, while reptiles often carry salmonella around in their guts, knowing whether they’re liable to infect you isn’t easy. So you can’t know whether any bearded dragon you might buy at the pet store has it or not before taking it home. And if it does carry salmonella, there’s no way to be 100 percent safe from its ability to shed the bacteria in its feces. That’s because salmonella bacteria are not always identifiable when you test a given animal. *Network Item
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/11/2260254/leaping-lizards-could-this-birthday.html#ixzz1P2erWRHN
Koalas
It is a shocking sight to break the heart and raise the hackles of Coast koala crusader Murray Chambers – a logged native forest, which he believes is vital to the survival of Peregian's local population of struggling marsupials. On private land just west of the Emu Mountain Rd motorway section north of Murdering Creek Rd, large trees have for weeks lain where they were cut down in this koala habitat area. For Murray, who makes up one half of Sunshine Coast Koala Wildlife Rescue with brother Ray, the tangled swathe of sawn and broken tree trunks and limbs is a possible koala death sentence. “Any clearing around here should be a no-no – these are koala food trees,” he said, after inspecting logged trees he estimated to be decades old. The land is believed to be part of 155 hectares private parcel on either side of the roadway, which was knocked back as a site for a 1200-lot residential development in 2008. Clearing on the other side of the road attracted concerns from Sunshine Coast Council and Noosa MP Glen Elmes in 2009. “One of the big blokes there has got to be an 80-year-old tree – they have cut down the really big trees,” Mr Chambers said. “Noosa is in big enough trouble now with their koalas without this. “Noosa is special because it still has what a lot of other places on the Coast have lost – its koalas. But that is not going to last long at this rate. “Whoever gave permission for this to happen should be sacked. They should be picking up papers on the beach.” Mr Chambers said this apparent sanctioned logging operation was a demonstration of how governments at all levels were ignoring the plight of the koala. *Sunshine Coast Daily
Another Kangaroo Kill Mooted
Moyne (Victoria) Shire mayor Jim Doukas has hopped into an environmental minefield by suggesting kangaroos and wallabies at Tower Hill be culled to reduce overpopulation. He said there were too many of the native animals being killed on the perimeter road around the reserve. Dozens of kangaroos and wallabies feed on grass beside the road from dusk each evening. One local resident estimated there could be hundreds there some evenings. "They are overpopulated - it's as simple as that," Cr Doukas told The Standard yesterday while commenting on numerous road crashes involving native animals and livestock. "There's so much feed outside the fence the roos and wallabies just hop over. "We wrote to Parks Victoria a few weeks ago asking them to do something about the situation, but I haven't seen a reply yet. There needs to be better fencing and reduced numbers of the animals." His comments followed questions by The Standard about the shire's responsibility in making sure farmers keep livestock from escaping onto roads.
Last Wednesday night a person was taken to hospital after two cars hit at least six cattle on the Cobden-Warrnambool Road near Laang speedway. On May 27 a Koroit woman was injured after hitting 12 head of cattle on the Princes Highway at Illowa and there was another incident involving livestock on May 16 near the Penshurst-Hamilton Road intersection. Police said it was the responsibility of shire bylaws officers to prosecute farmers who allowed stock to escape. Cr Doukas said there was sometimes difficulty in determining ownership of livestock. “Most farmers take care to keep fencing in good order and I don’t think are going to deny their responsibility,” he said. “If you look at the number of farms and livestock in this district incidences of vehicles hitting stock is fairly small. “There are just as many accidents with roos and wallabies, but who’s going to be accountable for that?
“The government should be held responsible for its animals. “With roos, drivers know there’s nothing they can do to seek damages and just limp away or call a tow truck. “One day there will be a fatality around Tower Hill if a driver swerves into another vehicle to avoid an animal or they go over the side.” Wildlife Victoria regional co-ordinator Tracey Wilson of Koroit, suggested the shire do more to press for a speed reduction from 100km/h to 80km/h on the southern end of Tower Hill road. She agreed better fencing may help contain native animals within the reserve, but she did not want to enter into debate on Cr Doukas’ call for culling. Ms Wilson has been alerted to numerous instances this year of wildlife being hit by passing vehicles around Tower Hill, but said yesterday the accident rate seemed to have declined recently. * Warrnambul Standard
Climate Change
Climate change will deliver a death sentence for millions of birds in southwest Queensland and the loss of other species in the Wet Tropics, the Gulf of Carpentaria, Mulga Lands and central Queensland. A disturbing report prepared for the Environment Department by independent scientist Tim Low, on Queensland's biodiversity and climate change, found those regions were particularly vulnerable to changes in rainfall and temperature. The Courier-Mail understands that as a consequence of the report, Climate Change and Queensland Biodiversity, about $4 million will go towards preparing a biodiversity strategy. The measure will be announced in Tuesday's State Budget. The strategy will help various groups build connected ecosystems for threatened species, such as cassowaries. Mr Low said deaths in heatwaves were a natural event but they would become worse with climate change, and particularly if high temperatures coincided with drought. "A heatwave striking after drought-induced dieback of trees could cause catastrophic loss of birds and mammals because there would be little shade to provide shelter," Mr Low said in the report.
He warned that if critically important eucalypts were to be protected, Queensland had to save long-range pollinators such as flying foxes, lorikeets and migratory honeyeaters. Eucalypts could not adapt like northern hemisphere species, so although planting bush corridors helped, it should not be seen as the main strategy in ensuring their survival. Mr Low said Queenslanders had to radically alter the way they thought about helping species adapt. "A mistake we have made is relying too much on northern hemisphere thinking," he said. "We get a lot of our ideas out of Europe and they are not always appropriate for our conditions." Eucalypts did not spread much during past ice ages but survived in pockets, unlike trees in the northern hemisphere that tended to "march" back and forth as the climate changed, he said. Environment Minister Kate Jones said it was obvious many ecosystems, plants and animals would be under threat if climate impacts were not managed. "This report is a reminder that we all share the responsibility of ensuring our wildlife and environment is protected," Ms Jones said. *Courier Mail
Ed comment, The report is welcomed, but getting the Queensland Government to act on it is another thing!
Two Headed Fish
An investigation has found no definitive link between farm chemicals and two-headed fish at a Queensland hatchery. The government set up a taskforce in 2009 to investigate fish health problems, including deaths and deformities, at the Sunland Fish Hatchery near Noosa. On Wednesday, the 20-member taskforce delivered its final majority view that there was not enough evidence to prove the chemicals had caused deformities, including three-tailed fish, and other problems. But two vets who were part of the taskforce disagreed, and believed there was a link. Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Tim Mulherin told reporters such investigations were always complex and it was difficult to identify a specific cause. "It was alleged that these issues, and broader problems associated with the Noosa River, were caused by chemical spray drift from an adjoining macadamia farm," he said. "Overall, the investigation found that there was no definitive link between chemicals and the events that occurred at the hatchery or in the Noosa River.
"While agricultural chemicals may be a contributing factor in some of the events that were investigated, other factors like fish diseases and parasites, water quality, past environmental contaminants and hatchery management practices cannot be ruled out as the primary cause." Hatchery owner Gwen Gilson has blamed chemical drift from the nearby macadamia farm for the deformities. She has been unavailable for comment. However, macadamia farmer Troy Ziesemer has said chemical use on the property always complied with best practice, and denied it was to blame. Dale Cliff, Mr Ziesemer's lawyer, told AAP the report "entirely vindicates" his client. "From the report there's no direct causal connection," he said. "Nor the quantity of chemicals sprayed by my client, were of such a level that in the view of the taskforce, caused any of the issues at the hatchery." "He has taken all reasonable measures to prevent any of his chemicals going onto the hatchery." *Courier Mail
Quolls
Tasmanian researcher Shannon Troy had some high-tech gadgets at her disposal as she trapped and then tracked the rare spotted-tailed quoll at Woolnorth this year. But the main tool she needed was patience. The University of Tasmania zoology department PhD candidate caught a lot more Tasmanian devils than her target species in the 10 weeks. But eventually, she trapped enough mature adult female quolls to study the foraging and denning habits of the second largest of the world's surviving carnivorous marsupials, using a VHF transmitter and GPS locators. Ms Troy said the aim of her study was to learn more about critical quoll habitat and potential threats to its survival, such as loss of vegetation and the establishment of a fox population in Tasmania. "The best estimate we have is that there were about 6000 mature adult spotted-tailed quolls in Tasmania in 1996," Ms Troy said. "The quoll, which is bigger than the Eastern quoll, is listed as rare in Tasmania but endangered on the mainland.
"While the local quoll population has to deal with habitat loss and the poisoning of animals it does not have to deal with an established fox population." An adult quoll weighs up to 2.7kg and is a little larger than a domestic cat. Ms Troy hoped what she has learned would bridge the gap in knowledge about the solitary marsupials. In the first project of its kind in Tasmania, Ms Troy caught and then slipped a collar on the quolls. A VHF transmitter attached to the collar sent a signal that allowed the animals to be tracked to their dens. Nineteen male quolls were trapped before Ms Troy and her research team of a French intern and two volunteers one Canadian and one American caught a female big enough to collar. Ms Troy found that while spotted-tailed quolls shared their food with devils and smaller quolls, there was a lot of prey to go around in Tasmania and a lot of tree hollows and burrows for dens. She said every effort was needed to stop further loss of quoll habitat and local populations joining interstate counterparts on the endangered list. *Mercury
GBR Webcam
Marine scientists are hoping the installation of a permanent underwater camera on the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland will give them an insight into the daily life of coral and other sea creatures. Researchers plan to use snapshots of life underwater to answer questions about the real time effects of rising temperatures and coral bleaching. The pictures are not just for science, as anyone can view them online here:
http://data.aims.gov.au/aimsrtds/webcams.xhtml?site=4
At Davies Reef in the waters off Townsville in north Queensland, a cluster of coral and the fish that swim past it are set to become famous. Researchers from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) have set up an unmanned webcam to study what is happening beneath the surface. AIMS spokesman Dr Ray Berkelmans says it is a technological first. "It's trained on a coral bommie with some lovely plate corals and really the idea for this camera is to give us real time feedback as to what the conditions of the corals are," he said. "We've been very good at and very sophisticated at predicting coral bleaching but what we don't have is real time feedback of what the corals are actually doing so this is kind of closing the loop for us." The area is photographed every 15 minutes and the images are then made available online.
Dr Berkelmans says those photos will help scientists to verify the direct effects of coral bleaching. "You can have warm temperatures but very cloudy days and it won't bleach nearly as quickly as when there is no cloud and lots of sunlight coming in," he said. "There's a multitude of factors and this will help us improve our predictions." He says it is not just the coral which are under the lens, as tropical fish are sharing the limelight too. "There is a certain colony and individuals of fish that seem to hang around that bommie a lot," he said. "Pretty much those fish are in the picture all the time so I think we'd be able to build up a good database about fish behaviour. "It's the sort of thing that's very hard to do on scuba." *ABC
Camels for Climate Change?
An Australian land management consultant has proposed killing large numbers of wild camels in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a major contributor to global warming. The proposal, one of several in an initiative to be debated in the Australian parliament next week, posits that eliminating the camels would generate carbon credits, which industry could then purchase to offset their carbon emissions. Northwest Carbon proposes to shoot the animals or round them up for slaughter, with the resulting meat processed for animal or human consumption. Camels were imported to Australia in the mid 19th century, where they were used for transport across the vast, arid interior portions of the continent. When no longer needed, they were set loose. Nature took her course and now there are about 1.2 million feral camels in the country. The ruminants are highly destructive "pests" and each camel emits about 100 pounds of the greenhouse gas methane each year.
Because of its high reliance on coal-powered energy, Australia has one of the highest per capita greenhouse gas emission levels of any country, and the nation is looking at many ways to address the issue. But is camel-culling a costly diversion from more effective measures? Bloomberg quotes Tony Owen, academic director of University College London’s School of Energy and Resources in Adelaide, Australia:“It sounds like a high-cost way of curbing emissions. We’ve really got to move into the big league where we look at life changing technology.” The Australian legislature is engaged in a fierce debate over the Labor government's proposal to introduce a fixed price on carbon emissions--a carbon tax--on large industrial polluters by July 2012. Polls show Australians are bitterly divided on the subject; many fear the tax will further harm the economy, while thousands rallied in support of the tax around the country last Sunday. *Care2
Go here to vote no to kill camels ... http://www.care2.com/causes/global-warming/blog/carbon-credits-for-camel-killing/
Wildlife Smuggling
A Californian reptile salesman who attempted to smuggle 15 live Australian lizards into the US by strapping them to his chest should be jailed for 10 months, prosecutors have told an American judge. Michael Plank, 41, was stopped by US customs officers at Los Angeles international airport moments after he stepped off his United Airlines flight from Sydney on November 17, 2009. A pat-down search found money belts strapped to Plank's chest "stuffed" with two geckos, two monitor lizards and 11 skinks. Plank entered a guilty plea to a smuggling charge last year and US District Court judge Otis D Wright will sentence him on July 11. "There is simply no better way to discourage wildlife smugglers than to send out the message that smuggling wildlife will result in prison time," US prosecutors submitted in a filing to the judge yesterday. Prosecutors labelled Plank's smuggling attempt as "animal cruelty" and asked for a 10 month jail sentence, a $US2000 fine and three years probation. Australian customs officials estimate the 15 lizards are worth between $20,000 to $25,000. Plank, owner of US-based Big Game Reptiles, made 12 trips to Australia between November 2006 and November 2009, raising suspicions he had smuggled other Australian animals. The illegal trafficking of wildlife is estimated to be worth $US20 billion a year and ranks as the fourth most valuable illicit economy in the world behind drugs, arms and human trafficking, prosecutors told the court. The lizards are being held at San Diego Zoo.
Stuffed into four suitcases at Bangkok international airport last week were 450 rare and endangered turtles - and they were immediately seized by officials. But the discovery highlights growing concern over animal poaching in Asia. A previous find at the same airport included four leopard cubs, a bear cub, a monkey and a red-cheeked gibbon. In a separate case, a Bengal tiger cub was seized. Further arrests have been made across the border, where Laos and Cambodia have struck deals with Vietnam in an effort to curb poaching and protect what is left of their wildlife. Scientists are warning that up to half South-East Asia's wildlife will disappear this century if authorities fail to curb the smuggling rackets. It appears that the warnings are being heard, and understood. Malaysia is leading a bid to save the Sumatran rhinoceros - in serious danger of extinction, with perhaps just 15 to 30 left on the east coast of north Borneo. Tony Lamb, who has worked the Malaysian agricultural and horticultural departments for 40 years, told Radio Australia's Asia Pacific: "There were people who came in unseen, unnoticed and would camp for three months in the forests and find the territories of the rhinos and then dig traps. "And basically they would sell everything - the rhino hide, the horn. So that's why rhinos are now down to something like 15 or so."
Malaysia has achieved much in rescuing orang-utans and pigmy elephants from extinction. Shark fishing has also been banned and many Chinese restaurants are refusing to sell shark fin soup. But hundreds of other species are still in a precarious position. Lamb said: "It's been a matter of demand for their parts especially in China and Thailand. "So the sun bears for their gall bladders were hunted very, very heavily and they're now really threatened. "The same for the pangolins. that were exported out for medicine in China and other parts of Asia. "I think the dugongs were a similar thing that they were also prized for their tusks for medicinal purposes." Sridhar Lakshmana, managing trustee for the Base Camp Social Research Foundation, said south-eastern Indian marine life is under threat, with dugongs, turtles and sharks popular among poachers who on sell to China and Japan. He said: "What I think the international community can do is to have a much more coordinated effort, to see who are the final end consumers." The poachers were only local fishermen, and hard to apprehend, he said. "I don't think it's possible to achieve any of this without the contribution of the community and raising awareness levels within the community that I would say should be the focus if you really want to clamp down. "Just looking at it as a law and order problem and putting people behind bars will just make the trade more secret."
Tuna Wars Update
Tuna fishermen confronted environmentalists on the Mediterranean on Saturday, as activists attempted to disrupt illegal tuna fishing under the no-fly zone north of Libya. The fishermen attacked the Steve Irwin, owned by the U.S.-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, by hurling heavy metal chain links aboard. They also attempted to lay a rope in front of the activists' boat, hoping to disable it. Environmentalists responded with water from fire hoses and stink bombs. Several hundred feet above the fray circled a French fighter jet, summoned by the fishermen -- who claimed, falsely, that activist divers were trying to cut their net. The 59.5-metre Steve Irwin, named after the Australian conservationist who died in 2006, left the Sicilian port of Syracuse early Friday, heading for a rendezvous with a smaller, faster sister ship, the Brigitte Bardot, just north of Libyan waters. The Bardot had traversed the area and reported that more than 20 purse seiners were operating there. Purse seiners are boats that deploy large nets that draw closed like a purse, ensnaring the tuna. The fish are then sometimes put in floating net-cages and slowly towed to port.
Sea Shepherd is on a mission to disrupt boats that are fishing illegally or have exceeded their quotas. The stock of bluefin tuna, which spawn in the Mediterranean and then swim out to the North Atlantic, has been depleted to the point that some experts fear it will soon collapse. The confrontation began to take shape at first light as the sun lifted and blazed a bright white stripe across the sea. Ten purse seiners floated several miles from the Steve Irwin in one direction, with five floating in the other. The ship's crew are true believers in their cause with vegan fare solely served on board. Yet Captain Paul Watson, the Sea Shepherd founder, and other ships officers say they only go after boats that are fishing illegally -- if they are not allotted a quota by ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or have exceeded it -- or their catch includes too many juveniles.
As the Steve Irwin approached the group of five boats to determine their identities and inspect their catch Saturday, high stakes maneuvering began at close quarters. The boats were Tunisian, at least one was not licensed to fish -- according to the Irwin's crew -- and they did not respond to radio calls. The Sea Shepherd environmentalists -- who have no official enforcement powers -- deployed a small launch to inspect the cage, while the Tunisians suddenly scrambled two, then three small dinghies to protect their net. Others tried to cut off the Steve Irwin or chase it away. Fishermen in the larger boats threw heavy links of chain at the environmentalists -- hitting no one, but eventually forcing the dinghies to retreat without being able to determine if there were tuna in the cage. A larger Tunisian boat pulled along the port side of the Steve Irwin and the crew pelted the environmentalists with chain links. The crew of the Irwin responded with stink bombs containing, they said, rancid butter.
A Tunisian dinghy also towed a rope in front of the Steve Irwin, hoping it would get tangled in the propeller and disable the ship. Meanwhile, the cries of the Tunisians could be overheard radioing the French military for help, saying environmentalist divers were in the water trying to cut their nets. That was not the case. However, the Sea Shepherd volunteers are prepared to do exactly that to free the tuna, if they determine the fishing to have been illegal -- and they have done it in the past. The Irwin's officers deemed sending in divers at this point too dangerous. The Tunisians were aggressive, and they had deployed divers to protect their cage -- which could have led, in effect, to hand-to-hand combat in the sea. A French military jet appeared on the scene in short order and flew over the area at an altitude of a couple of hundred feet as the drama unfolded below. Eventually, the Steve Irwin broke off contact so it could continue to research whether the fishing was illegal. Ships officers said at least one of the boats had no quota assigned. Watson and other officers on the Irwin said they found the Tunisian's behavior suspicious. The crew of the environmentalists' ship was making more inquiries and coordinating with the Brigitte Bardot, and at midday Saturday, the possibility of more confrontation loomed. *CTVNews
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