20/3/12

Qld Election Summary...and it's a Mess!

Next Saturday Queensland goes to the polls in the grubbiest election campaign in Queensland's history. Whatever happens, there will be significant issues to be raised for wildlife after the election. As in the previous election, Labor have targeted the women's vote, promising huge amounts of money (that they dont have) into education, free swimming lessons for kids, etc etc. Labor has made further promises to gazette wildlife corridors across Queensland, but hardly anyone believes them any more. Premier Anna Bligh, undoubtably the most unpopular Premier ever, is a consumate politician, albeit with tunnel vision, and some will argue, a mouth that could talk underwater. Labor's contempt and lack of concern for environmental damage due to industrial and other proposals that impact badly on wildlife are well documented....we're not going into those issues here due to lack of space.....we would need pages and pages....

The Liberal National Party (LNP) are standing Cambell Newman as Leader, in the seat of Ashgrove, held by former Environment Minister Kate Jones. Kate was one of several useless Labor Environment Ministers before her. Campbell Newman is a very nice feller, possibly too nice to be in politics, and they do have some very good people in their team. Labor has poured lots of funding into Ashgrove, in an attempt to ensure Newman doesnt get elected, so that if the do LNP get elected, and thats very likely, they will be leaderless until they appoint someone else Leader. Nothing like this has ever been seen before in Queensland.

Bob Katters Party has collected up all the animal hating rednecks it possibly could, and they want to allow landholders to be able to shoot anything that comes onto their properties, including kangaroos, flying foxes, crows, and possibly burglars and tax collectors, if they can tell the difference. Some experts argue that a vote for Katter's mob will ensure Labor get back into government. The Qld Greens were polling about 8% of the primary vote, but this week seem to have shot themselves in the head, by allocating preferences to to Labor in the seat of Ashgrove, which is the key seat in the NLP campaign. The Qld Greens also have no animal welfare policies on their website, so some people will assume they support live exports etc, which of course they dont.....but..... So most pundits expect the Green votes to drop dramatically on polling day.....largely due to the preference deal with Labor, and lack of visible animal welfare policies.

It's a mess. WWF have come out with a "report" and full page advertisements in the Courier Mail, claiming Labor has better environment policies than the LNP, particullarly in regard to the Gt Barrier Reef. Of course they have....dozens of community groups have been lobbying Labor for 20 years about GBR issues, and some actions have been reasonably successful, Does WWF believe these things like Dugong Protected Areas happened by accident? We had to fight Labor tooth and nail to get any significant protection for the GBR. However, there's still lots more issues that need to be addressed. Noone yet has started lobbying the LNP about these issues, although we at WPAA have raised a few matters with them. But one has to wonder who is paying WWF for the full page advertising.....

This week it gets messier still. This week polls are showing a landslide victory for the LNP, with or without Cambell Newman. Anna Bligh has given up campaigning for Labor, and is touring the State, trying to salvage as many Labor seats as she can. What the future holds for wildlife is unclear. While the LNP has commited to protecting FI dingoes, and outlawing dugong and turtle cruelty, there are still many wildlife issues that need to be addressed, including rural CSG impacts, Gladstone Harbor and other proposed coal and gas Terminals, the commercial kangaroo kill, flying fox protection, koalas, flood mitigation, logging issues, flying foxes, funding for wildlife carers, the easy issueing of damage mitigation Permits for farmers, airports, and fruitgrowers to shoot wildlife, etc, etc, etc.
As we said earlier....its a mess...roll on election day!

Wildlife Corridors

In the 1980s, ecologists were locked in a debate about how best to preserve biodiversity. Which, they asked, was better: a single large reserve, or several small reserves? The debate was never resolved, but did direct research towards the issue of habitat fragmentation and its link with extinction. By the 1990s, consensus had been reached. Habitat fragmentation was a threat to a great number of species facing extinction. To protect biodiversity properly, these artificially fragmented habitats needed be reconnected. Not unlike the current “debate” over climate change, public appreciation of the issue – and government action – has lagged behind scientific understanding by a couple of decades. Recently though, the federal government has officially come around to the importance of biological corridors.
Read more .. http://theconversation.edu.au/why-a-carbon-tax-for-wildlife-corridors-is-a-good-idea-5781

Fraser Dingoes

A Fraser Island dingo suffered a horrible death because a government department was not capturing the animals properly, an indigenous elder says. Butchulla elder Marie Wilkinson, a traditional owner of the southeast Queensland island, said a report acquired under Right to Information laws showed a young dingo died after being restrained during a Queensland Department of Environment and Resources Management study in May last year. The necropsy report says the dingo died from hyperthermia, after it was restrained around the neck and overheated. The death was a "preventable occurrence", the report says. "The circumstances of this case indicate a need for a critical review of the capture and restraint procedures for dingoes." Ms Wilkinson said the report was distressing, given the dingo was sacred in their culture. "To see a dingo tortured to death in the manner described in an independent necropsy report is intolerable," she said. "I demand the Government make those responsible for this atrocious act accountable." *CM

Ed Comment; This collaring experiment was done illegally to start with, without the required Ethics Committee approval. An Ethical Committee approval was not given in May for the collaring on the dingoes, when the experiment was started but later hastily issued in September, when local groups started doing FOI searches. The detached unemotional words on the autopsy report give a chilling account of a horrific and slow traumatic death done under the ministerial responsibility of Kate Jones when environment minister at that time. We have the autopsy report, if anyone wants it please let us know.....email me at pat@wildlifeprotectaust.org.au


The cruel suffering of a Fraser Island Dingo reads like a horror story. He died in terror during a scientific experiment conducted by the Department of Environment and Resource Management Queensland, then under Kate Jones as environment minister. The harrowing trauma and pain, agonising slow death inflicted on this animal will anger all Australians. This department has continued now under vicky Darling a culture of unnacountablity that is unprecedented. Accidental incompetence with blundering rangers, supposedly the custodians and carers of the dingoes on the Island, which is in turn protected under World Heritage listing is beyond belief in the 21st century.. The dingoes are now critically in decline with huge losses from, culling, starvation and lastly heavy handed experimental procedures that cause stress and trauma, leg injures not seen in any Western educated country. We should be ashamed of this department and the appalling image they present to overseas visitors, on the once pristine and once healthy Fraser Island dingoes,the last pure breed dingoes left in Australia and a valuable animal to preserve. They are a species at risk with siblings now mating, from the depletion from culling of adult animals, which scientist will tell you is an animal in crisis..there are now only 20 breeding pairs left. See SFID. NDPRP program and Youtube Ray Reville. We are Australian and we deplore animal cruelty and as seen in the reaction to the live cattle trade, to the ABC report on the cruelty on the Dugongs and Turtles, how in heavens name is this acceptable when it is committed by a gov.department? We shout and yell and demonstrate about the Japanese cruelty regarding the whales and quite rightly so, but there is a deafening silence regarding this cruelty. The Tasmanian tiger is suffering and dying out from cancer, the Fraser Island dingoes cancer are the rangers and DERM. One is not under our control… The other is? * Network Item


Save the Fraser Island Dingoes (SFID) has said that "There is no doubt the Fraser Island Dingo Management Strategy (FIDMS) is flawed and failing, it is therefore imperative for the future sustainability of the dingo population that a Management Committee, independent of government, be established to monitor any and all handling of Wildlife on Fraser Island".


Meanwhile the RSPCA's position on the Fraser Dingoes is here below....they support the Government.........in a letter they have said "RSPCA Qld was made aware of the sad death of a dingo last year during ongoing research on Fraser Island. The incident was reported to the ethics committee and was investigated. There was no doubt that mistakes were made at the time but the RSPCA believes that the death was a tragic accident and no cruelty was either sanctioned or intended. Further safeguards have now been put in place and it is highly unlikely that another incident of this nature could reoccur. However RSPCA Qld believes that continued research is vital to ensure the ongoing survival of Fraser Island dingoes." Well, most people including dingo experts believe the research is nonsense, and totally unfounded. Just leave the dingoes alone.....

http://www.rspcaqld.org.au/Information/PoliciesandPositions/Dingoes/PositionPaper

Patient of the Week...Brad the Carpet Python

Found in a backyard at Delaneys Creek after being attacked by a neighbour’s pet dog. Transported to The Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital by Toby and James from the Australia Zoo Rescue Unit. Dr Amber checked over Brad and found several crush injuries and small puncture wounds along the python’s back. Brad was also weak, dehydrated and cold. Dr Amber flushed Brad’s wounds clean with a saline solution to help prevent infection. Brad was also administered pain relief, sub-cutaneous fluids and antibiotics, and set up in ICU.
Outcome: Unfortunately the internal injuries sustained by the dog attack were too severe, and Brad sadly passed away. * AZWH Statistic: On average, more than one animal is admitted every day as a result of being attacked by a domestic dog, with 217 patients admitted in the past six months. Please keep a close eye on your pets!

Dugongs and Turtles

The Bligh government is refusing to scrap legislation that exempts indigenous traditional hunting from Queensland's animal cruelty laws, despite a Liberal National Party vow to do so. Announcing jobs for six new indigenous rangers in Cairns yesterday, Environment Minister Vicky Darling said Labor would manage dugong and turtle hunting through an education program, rather than a law change. *Australian

Footage can be seen here .. http://animalsaustralia.org/features/turtles-and-dugongs-QLD-election

Read more about this issue ... http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/turtle-and-dugong-footage-causes-controversy.htm

Ed Comment; Neither an Inquiry or few more rangers will stop the cruelty. This is a huge area, and impossible for a handful of rangers to police, even if they had enough resources, which is unlikely. Sales of the meat has been going on for a very long time. 20 years ago I reported that dugong meat was eaten at wedding I attended in Rockhampton, but the Government of the day (Labor) couldnt care less. Colin Riddell is to be commended for finally bringing this issue out into the open. Our view at WPAA is that hunting of threatened or endangered wildlife is just not acceptable. Arguing that it is a cultural activity just doesn't cut the ice. NZ Moaris ate human flesh for many hundreds of years, perhaps thousands of years, now they are not allowed to...it's not publicly acceptable.....any more than hunting endangered wildlife is. Stop the turtle and dugong hunting now!

Duck Hunting

Wildlife activist Laurie Levy has defended actions that led to his arrest and fine for entering water illegally at the opening of Victoria's duck hunting season yesterday. Department of Primary Industries officers arrested Mr Levy and fined him $122 after he entered water without a game or shooter's licence at Lake Buloke, in Victoria's north-west. Mr Levy said he had entered the water to retrieve a wounded duck and called the department to help find the bird and speak to the shooter who failed to retrieve it. ''Being arrested and fined doesn't worry me. But it's just the fact the only concern the Department of Primary Industries had was arresting me and not bothering with the shooter or bothering to find the wounded bird,'' he said.
About 17,000 licensed duck hunters and 120 wildlife rescuers have hit wetlands across the state since 7.10am yesterday. Mr Levy said the accidental shooting in the face of a female rescuer last year almost drove him to cancel rescue efforts this year. But other rescuers convinced him they wanted to be there. To improve safety, the activists bought the same ballistic safety goggles used by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. * AAP

Become a Wildlife Warrior
By making a one-off donation or joining our monthly giving program you can become part of a global wildlife force that is working hard to preserve our natural environment. Monthly Giving Program; Sign up to become a regular giver for wildlife conservation! Donations start from as little as $2.50 a week and can go to helping our native wildlife at the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital. Nearly 100 wildlife emergency calls are received every day at the Hospital, Up to 30 different species are admitted to the hospital every day, Currently around 80 koalas undergoing treatment, Approximately 70% of patients are victims of car accidents or domestic pet attacks, The cost to treat one animal ranges from $100 to thousands of dollars To sign up or find out more please visit http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au *

Kangaroos

The controversial re-election of Vladimir Putin in Russia is a positive step for our kangaroos, it was Putin who banned the imports in the first place. Our campaigns to ensure the Russian ban on kangaroo meat stays in place is ongoing, and some other positive steps have recently been taken. More info will be available when we can eventually talk more about what we are doing. *WPAA


Wildlife volunteers say 23 kangaroos used as a tourist drawcard at award-winning Jacob's Creek winery were found in what they believed was a malnourished state - so apparently neglected that some were in "shocking" pain from untreated injuries. Jacob's Creek, owned by French company Orlando Wines, is one of Australia's best-known international brands. Its tourist centre in the Barossa Valley this month won the Australian Tourism Award for best tourism winery and best restaurants and catering services. Volunteer group Fauna Rescue said the wine company approached it last year to find the kangaroos at its Rowland flat winery a new home. The group's kangaroo expert Kerry Colmer said the winery "enquired" if Fauna Rescue could find the animals a new home before the end of the year and she claimed a winery reprensentative then told her if they weren't relocated the company would "shoot" them. She said when she and two other volunteers had visited the centre at the winery's invitation last June, they photographed:

CARCASSES of joeys and adult kangaroos in the roo enclosure; EMPTY food bowls; NO EDIBLE vegetation available for the animals; SEVERELY disabled kangaroos in pain from untreated injuries; MALNOURISHED kangaroos.

Ms Colmer said she was "shocked" at the suffering. "I was disgusted and distressed at the state the kangaroos were in when I first saw them," she said. "When we entered the yard and saw the animals milling around the empty feed bowls it was heartbreaking. No animal deserves that, let alone an animal which a business has used for years to appeal to their customers." Emails from Jacob's Creek to Ms Colmer - and sighted by the Sunday Mail - show the winery also agreed to meet the rescue group's costs for relocating the animals. While Fauna Rescue spent months searching and obtaining approval from the Environment Department to move the native animals to a new home, the winery started feeding the kangaroos properly, Ms Colmer said.

Fauna Rescue volunteers had then worked 14 hours a day over the weekend of January 7-8 to relocate the 23 kangaroos to Banrock Station, near Barmera. "To see these animals eat grass for the first time and be free to be wild was truly marvellous," Ms Colmer said. Fauna Rescue says it is yet to be paid for the costs it incurred for hiring a van and transporting the kangaroos between the Barossa and the Riverland. Ms Colmer said she emailed Jacob's Creek immediately after the move, detailing the costs and suggesting Orlando Wines whose parent company Pernod Ricard made a $2 billion profit last year might also consider a donation to acknowledge the large amount of volunteer time spent on the relocation.

She said the group still had "not received a cent". "I have sent several emails inquiring when Fauna Rescue will be reimbursed its costs and my emails have been either ignored, or I have been told payment will be forthcoming but it never arrives," she said. The Sunday Mail made several attempts to seek comment from Orlando Wines. Yesterday afternoon the company responded, denying the claims of mistreatment, saying it would not be in its interest given the animals were part of a significant public site. "After careful consideration, Orlando Wines recently decided to relocate a group of kangaroos from an enclosure at the Jacobs Creek Visitors Centre in the Barossa Valley," the company said in a statement.

"Despite upgrading and enlarging the enclosure several years ago, due to their ongoing growth in numbers, we felt this decision was the best solution for the long-term welfare of the animals. Prior to the relocation, the animals were looked after and fed each day by staff at the facility. "Throughout the relocation process, and after seeking advice from the Department of Environment and Heritage, we consulted with a not-for-profit animal welfare organisation to ensure the welfare of the animals during the transition and to ensure they found a suitable home." Orlando also said it would meet Fauna Rescue's outstanding costs. *Adelaide Sunday Mail