Im outraged and shocked that 393 agile wallabies, 599 common brushtail possums, 35 sulphur crested cockatoos, 36 pied currawongs, three torresian crows, and one laughing kookaburra were destroyed on Hamilton Island in a mass culling over 18 months to prevent "unacceptable levels of damage, and to protect public safety at the airport and in the resort itself". Since when did animals present a threat to our environment and not commercial enterprises moreso?? Sorry but the public should have the right to a say on this if this is the best the Dept of Environment and Heritage Protection can do... considering the EHP did not conduct or request animal population surveys for Hamilton Island beforehand. I hope you can all join in this petition so we can take this issue to EHP and the media for better native animal management. We ask that in future that the EPA at least consult the likes of the RSPCA to prevent this kind of tragic destruction of our wildlife occuring again. As the RSPCA said of this incident "we should be learning how to live with native animals not cull them because they are causing damage to property or causing inconvenience to people"
To Whom it may concern in the Dept of Environment and Heritage
The unacceptable levels of culling of native animals on Hamilton Island show clearly that you are not working in the best interests of our native animals, but moreso for the interests of resort owners.
393 agile wallabies, 599 common brushtail possums, 35 sulphur crested cockatoos, 36 pied currawongs, three torresian crows, and one laughing kookaburra destroyed represents a significant number of our treasured and unique Australian native animals and I am outraged that this was allowed to happen without more prior consultation on alternative solutions or better animal management policies.
We demand therefore that you collaborate with the RSPCA who also said damaged property was not a sufficient reason to cull such a large number of animals.
Like the RSPCA we think we should be learning how to live with native animals not cull them because they are causing damage to property or causing inconvenience to people.
Hopefully there will be a way to reduce the numbers in the first place or even relocate the animals, instead of killing them in future.
Thanks for your cooperation and we expect much more conservation and a more balanced approach from you for the sake of our animals, our environment and our future generations.
regards
All the animals lovers of Australia
