Media Release Media Release Media Release

22 March, 2006

Statewide Protest on Muttonbird Season - AACT Members Call for an end to Cruel Season

When: 12.30pm, Thursday 23 March
Where: Outside Service Tasmania outlets in Hobart,
Devonport and Ulverstone

Animal advocates from around Tasmania will be holding a multi-city protest against the start of the annual recreational muttonbird season. The Hobart protest will commence outside the Service Tasmania office, then protesters will move to downtown Hobart, handing out leaflets.

“With the season about to commence, and a new Minister for Environment and Planning soon to be announced, the time is right to highlight this cruel and unnecessary activity.” said Campaign Spokesperson, Karen Bevis.

“We would like 2006 to be the last recreational muttonbird season ever held.” she said. “Tasmania is the only state where this species is not fully protected.”

“The practice of ‘muttonbirding’ is inherently cruel and totally unnecessary. Baby birds are ripped from the safety of their burrows whilst their parents are away gathering food. The fact that people do this for fun and just to satisfy their taste buds is quite disturbing.” said Ms Bevis.

The Short-tailed Shearwater may be plentiful, but this does not guarantee its long-term survival. In addition to the hundreds of thousands killed in Tasmania every year, both legally and by poachers, many thousands more die in fishing nets along their perilous 30,000 km migratory journey. They also suffer during storms whilst on their journey at sea, and are often found washed up dead on beaches. Their food source is threatened due to declining world fish numbers.

The Short-tailed Shearwater begins breeding at 5 years of age, and then only has one chick per year. Each pair travels from the Northern Hemisphere to breed in the same burrow each year, across Southern Australia, only to be persecuted in huge numbers in the state of Tasmania.

With so many threats against this species, numbers could possibly plummet suddenly. Precedents exist for this type of rapid unexpected decline, with the American Passenger Pigeon being the best known example.

Information from the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment on the 2006 season states openly the damage being caused to shearwater colonies and individual burrows by recreational muttonbirders and poachers and urges caution.

“These colonies are located on fragile soils, and damage by muttonbirders seems unavoidable, unless all colonies are protected.” said Ms Bevis

A recent request by Circular Head Council for The Nut at Stanley to be opened to muttonbirding by people with disabilities and those on pensions is nothing short of absurd, say animal advocates.

“Circular Head should take a leaf out of Swansea’s book and protect and promote their shearwater colony as a tourist attraction. Allowing killing of chicks on the tourist icon of The Nut is likely to repel tourists rather than attract them. People don’t go to The Nut to see baby birds being mutilated.” Ms Bevis stated.

The season opens on 25 March and runs until 9 April.

For more information, contact AACT.