Australian mohair is experiencing international demand driven by European buyers.(Supplied)
AceBusinessDesk – An academic-turned-farmer in Western Australia who stopped a flock of Angora goats from going to the slaughterhouse hopes to increase the sustainability of the animals through genetic breeding.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.26: 2024: ABC Great Southern News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Linkย https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Angora goats are prized for the high-value mohair they produce.(ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)normal
The goats, which originated in Turkey and are bred en masse in New Zealand, South Africa and the United States, produce the yarn needed to make mohair, a fabric prized by the fashion house of Europe.
After taking the goats in 2021, Gina Wood launched a selective coupling program she says will make the breed more productive and ethical to farm.
Gina Wood farms Angora goats near Bakers Hill east of Perth.(ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
What we’re trying to achieve with our genetic program is that as the animal ages, its micron [measurement of fibre] doesn’t blow out, it will stay stable,” Dr Wood said. โ
You don’t want the animal to just produce good fleece in its first one or two years and then be shipped off to the meat market. โ You want it to have a stable micron over its entire life so that it’s producing that high-quality fleece for eight, nine, 10 years.” While the fleece quality is comparable to lambs and merino wool, Dr Wood said Angoras were more productive and environmentally friendly. โ They’re actually the most efficient at producing fibre in the entire world,” she said. โ Sheep are heavier on the land and we have fairly fragile soils in WA. The Angora goats are actually lighter on the ground and certainly more so than cattle.”
Dr Wood hopes to develop herds that continue to produce finer micron fleeces as they age.(ABC Rural: Cara Jeffery)
Dense fleece
Starting with 23 goats in 2021, Dr Wood grew her flock to 120 head in just over two years. She is now focused on breeding bucks that would produce heavy kids with dense fleeces. โ I want them to grow as fast as possible within the first six months, and then we’re looking for really high stable [fleece] growth rates. โ This year I have animals whose first shearing will be 15 microns, which is quite comparable with lambswool quality. โ I’ve got a six-shearing-animal, which is producing up to 30 microns, which is what you would wear against your skin.”
Dr Wood is breeding goats with greater fibre density to create more productive goats.(ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
European demand
Fremantle-based Australian Speciality Fibres director John Bradbury said Australian Angora was highly sought after, but domestic supply was struggling to keep up with international demand, being driven by European fashion houses. โ The quality of the most recent lot we produced, the buyers gave it the same standard as Texas and Cape, that’s South African Cape, which is the highest standard,” he said. โ We ship it off to Italy, it’s washed and then combed, which is paralleling the fibres into a sliver, then we trade it in that form to the fashion mills in Italy. โ You end up with a very clean, nice product, and then that sells for about 35 euros a kilo.”
Australian mohair is experiencing international demand driven by European buyers.(Supplied)
Mr Bradbury said for the past three years he had sold fleeces at a premium, but with only a handful of flocks producing in WA he was sourcing Angora from across the country to meet the demand.
“We’re buying from all the producers here in WA, plus we’re also buying in New South Wales,” he said. โ It’s a very expensive article, if you compare it to merino wool, the current [merino] indicator is around $11.50 a kilo. โ What we’re hoping is that more [people] go into it and produce more mohair, breed up and get bigger flocks going.”
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Deforested area on PT Mayawana Persadaโs pulpwood concession in Borneo, Indonesia.
AceNewsDesk – A new report by Greenpeace and others alleges that Sukanto Tanotoโs Royal Golden Eagle masks its ties to an Indonesian pulpwood company accused of unprecedented destruction of forests and orangutan habitats.
Deforested area on PT Mayawana Persadaโs pulpwood concession in Borneo, Indonesia.
Environmentalists investigating the ownership of an Indonesian pulpwood concession operator allegedly responsible for mass deforestation on the island of Borneo have identified links between the company and a conglomerate owned by Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto.
According to the researchers from Greenpeace International, Auriga Nusantara and other conservation organizations, the Indonesian company PT Mayawana Persada has cleared a forested area roughly half the size of Singapore, causing conflicts with indigenous communities and destroying the habitats of Bornean orangutans, white-bearded gibbons and other protected species.
On paper, Mayawana is controlled by a โchain of holding companiesโ leading to two jurisdictions that donโt require disclosure of shareholdersโ names. Its ultimate owner is โeffectively, anonymous,โ the research team wrote in a new report titled โDeforestation Anonymous.โ
However, โoverlapping corporate officers, operational management connections, and supply chain links indicate the company is related to the Royal Golden Eagle Group,โ according to the report.
This complex corporate structure [โฆ] can shield them from the legal and reputational risks of destroying such vast tracts of tropical forest.ย
โ Arie Rompas of Greenpeace Indonesia
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Royal Golden Eagle, or RGE, is one of Asiaโs largest resource conglomerates, with interests in the pulp and paper, palm oil and energy sectors. Pulpwood can be used to produce paper, tissue and a fabric called viscose.
In 2015, the company publicly committed to a โzero deforestationโ policy but the groupโs ongoing expansion as a supplier of pulp for international brands is driving its demand for wood fiber, according to the report.
By using so-called anonymous companies such as Mayawana, RGE can benefit from forest destruction while keeping its reputation clean, the report alleges.
โThis complex corporate structure, in effect, hides the ultimate beneficial owner(s) of the company and can shield them from the legal and reputational risks of destroying such vast tracts of tropical forest,โ Arie Rompas of Greenpeace Indonesia said in a statement.
Through a spokesperson representing its pulp and paper subsidiary, Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd., or APRIL, RGE said it โcategorically refutes the existence of any links between RGE and its shareholders and PT Mayawana Persada.โ
Benefiting from โcontroversial operationsโ
RGE was founded by Tanoto, one of Indonesiaโs richest men, in 1973. The groupโs corporate structure is closely held and financial information about it is scarce.
According to the environmental organizations, the company began its formal involvement with Mayawanaโs โlegal ownership structureโ in December 2022. However, the conglomerate has had โsome degree of operational control over the companyโs forestry concession since 2019,โ their report said. At the same time, the percentage of natural forest destroyed in Mayawanaโs concession increased dramatically, with 80% of the destruction being on carbon-rich peatlands in 2023, the researchers found.
The new report is based on satellite images, supply chain tracking, interviews with Mayawanaโs employees, as well as an analysis of corporate records from Indonesia, Malaysia and tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. The researchersโ findings were also partly confirmed by Andrea Gunawan Suwandi, an Indonesian manager who directs Mayawanaโs operations and has worked for other units of the RGE group.
โIt appears that the use of anonymous ownership structures among pulpwood plantation companies provides RGE with an opportunity to control and/or benefit from controversial operations at the same time as its subsidiaries and the brands that use their products claim high sustainability standards in the global marketplace,โ the report said.
RGEโs spokesperson rejected the allegations and said that all its fiber supply is in compliance with its sustainable forest management policy โwhich explicitly commits to no deforestation in our supply chain from any sources.โ
However, this is not the first time that environmentalists have documented the use of shell companies by companies directly or indirectly controlled by RGE.
โTaken together, these investigations show a pattern of RGE using offshore shell companies to evade transparency and avoid accountability,โ Hilman Afif, a campaigner with the Jakarta-based Auriga Nusantara, told ICIJ. โRGE can do this, in part, becauseโฆ its subsidiaries continue to attract billions of dollars in financing and a global customer base.โ
The report released this week sheds further light on the role of anonymous shell companies and tax havens in many natural resources sectors. In the forestry industry โ where companies often rely on numerous suppliers, third-party contractors and connections with government officials โ the lack of transparency means companies that publicly claim to abide by environmental laws may be secretly connected to unscrupulous firms that destroy forests and animal habitats.
The study, based on the analysis of 284 Indonesian companies in the pulp sector, found that Tanoto is not listed as the beneficial owner of any Indonesian pulp company despite him being one of the sectorโs biggest investors.
In the case of his conglomerate, RGE, the problem is compounded by its expansion plan, which includes the recently announced acquisition of a controlling stake in Vinda International, a manufacturer and retailer of tissue and personal care products. The deal is subject to approval by Hong Kong regulators and is expected to be finalized by mid-2024, according to media reports.
Hidden links to forest destruction
RGE is not the only natural resources conglomerate accused of using anonymously owned entities to hide its links to deforestation.
In response to questions from ICIJโs media partners, both Paper Excellence and First Resources denied being linked to suppliers accused of environmental harm.
Deforested area on PT Mayawana Persadaโs pulpwood concession in Borneo, Indonesia.
Deforestation Inc., a collaboration between ICIJ and 43 media partners worldwide, exposed flaws in the environmental auditing industry and certification programs intended to promote responsible forestry and other social goals.
ICIJ found that in the last two decades, dozens of environmental auditors certified as โsustainableโ the forest products and operations of more than 340 companies later accused of environmental crimes or other wrongdoing by local communities, advocates and government agencies.
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The team used two kinds of netting that helped funnel the animal to the surface.(Supplied: Taronga Zoo)
AceBreakingNews – Platypus born to translocated animals in Royal National Park despite series of pollution scares
Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.21: 2024: ABC Environment News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
The 850-gram female puggle, as baby platypuses are known, was discovered in the Hacking River in the Royal National Park south of Sydney. She is believed to be the child of two of 10 platypuses โ six females and four males โ that were re-homed in the park last May. The researchers behind the program, from the University of New South Wales, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Taronga Conservation Society Australiaand the World Wildlife Fund, conducted a weekend of night-time surveys to recapture the egg-laying mammals. Project lead Gilad Bino said he was overjoyed to find the puggle after it swam into the team’s nets. โ We were over the moon,” Dr Bino said. โ It was just amazing โฆ so rewarding and very humbling to be part of this mammoth effort.”
In his career, Gilad Bino has re-homed over 400 platypus in the wild.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)
He said the discovery of Gilli marked a significant milestone in the state’s first-ever platypus translocation program โ and it was a “miracle” they were able to capture her.
“It’s really looking for a needle in a haystack โ it’s a big system. There are only 10 animals,” he said. โ We were using tracking data to try and see where we should be focusing our attention.”
The team used two kinds of netting that helped funnel the animal to the surface.(Supplied: Taronga Zoo)
Dr Bino is awaiting the results of a biopsy to confirm Gilli’slineage, but is confident it is a descendent of the translocated platypuses.
“Before this project started, we confirmed that there weren’t any platypuses here โ we did a very thorough assessment of the water system,” he said. Gilli’s name was selected by Yuin, Walbunja, Dhoorga Gurandgi cultural man Uncle Dean Kelly meaning ‘flame’ or ‘life has been ignited’ in Dharawal language. The team has not excluded the possibility of more juveniles living in the Royal National Park.
Defying the odds
Last August, the project was put in jeopardy as thick, black sediment from the nearby Metropolitan Colliery contaminated Camp Gully Creek, upstream of the Hacking River, following a landslip. It is the latest in a series of pollution events impacting the waterway believed to have been caused by the mine. Researchers found no immediate harm to the platypuses, however water experts raised concerns that contamination impacting macroinvertebrates, which the platypuses fed off, could be deadly. But Dr Bino said water discolouration and turbidity had improved. โ We’ve been monitoring water quality, monitoring food availability and everything seems to suggest that the conditions are favourable and can sustain platypuses here,” he said. โ And as a testament, we are still seeing platypuses here a year later and successfully breeding.”
Cooper Riach is a Bundeena local and former NSW Greens Candidate for Heathcote.(ABC Illawarra: Sarah Moss)
โ Local environmentalist and biotechnician Cooper Riach, who inspected the waterways after five recent pollution events, said he was “relieved” a juvenile platypus had been found.
“This is just a testament to the amount of work that the team has put in to ensure the success of this project,” he said.
Contamination ‘not acceptable’
In the Land and Environment Court last week, Metropolitan Colliery pleaded guilty to two counts of polluting Camp Gully Creek and one count of contravening a licensing agreement dating back to 2022. Mr Riach, a member of the Sutherland Environment Centre, said he believed not enough protective action had been taken against Metropolitan Colliery. โ There have been five contaminations in the past two years,” he said. โ Picking [the coal waste out of the water] feels like a horrible, congealed custard โ it took me about a week to get the stuff out from under my nails. โ The fact that this, on numerous occasions, has been flowing through [one of] our oldest and โฆ most beloved national parks is simply not acceptable.”
Thick, black sediment from the landslip was visible eight days after the initial incident.(Supplied: Robert Crombie)
โ Peabody, the owner of Metropolitan Colliery, said in a statement the company had “worked tirelessly in cooperation with the EPA (NSW Environment Protection Authority)” to implement a program of improvements to surface water management.
“Protecting the environment and maintaining the support of the community are top priorities for our steel making coal operation and our 400-strong local workforce,” the statement read.
Tougher laws incoming
New South Wales Environment Minister Penny Sharpe attended the weekend’s survey and said she believed the project could be replicated in other areas. โ If we head into drought conditions again, we actually have a system in NSW to save platypuses, to rehabilitate them, but also put them back into the wild,” she said. When asked about the repeated pollution events, Minister Sharpe said she was confident the EPA was properly managing Metropolitan Colliery.
NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe hopes the translocation program can be replicated.(Supplied: Taronga Zoo )
โ I’ve said to them previously that if they are doing the wrong thing, you throw the book at them,” she said.
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Special nesting boxes have been designed to help boost the population of the island’s little penguins.(Supplied: Rotary Club)normal
AceNewsDesk – Western Australia’s Penguin Island is a tourist hotspot, attracting more than 130,000 visitors annually.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.19: 2024: ABC Environment News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Special nesting boxes have been designed to help boost the population of the island’s little penguins.(Supplied: Rotary Club)normal
Ferries run by the hour and a quick 10-minute trip transports people from Rockingham’s shores to the marine metropolis.
Penguin Island is a popular tourist destination off the coast of Perth’s southern suburbs.(ABC News: West Matteeussen)
But there are fears the star attraction could soon become extinct.
The little penguin colony โ which has given the island its name โ is in danger of dying out, and Perth’s latest bout of extreme weather has not helped. What was once a thriving population of 1,300 just over a decade ago has plummeted to an estimated 300 little penguins. Citizen scientists at the local Rotary club have built nesting boxes in a bid to help revitalise the colony.
‘Jewel’ in Rockingham crown
Lifetime conservationist turned volunteer, Rick Dawson, said it was all about helping the penguins cope with the heat. โ Any opportunity to make it a cooler environment for the penguins, so they can nest successfully is what we’re about,” Mr Dawson said. โ I would hate to think that my grandchildren weren’t here to see penguins. I mean how lucky are we? โ You’ve got the jewel of the crown here in Rockingham โ Shoalwater Islands Marine Park.”
Rick Dawson says they are working to help the penguins nest as successfully as possible.(ABC News: Ruby Littler)
Little penguins become heat stressed when the temperature reaches above 35 degrees Celsius, so a cool nesting environment in the hotter months can mean the difference between life and death.
The citizen scientists have constructed nesting boxes which are 8C cooler than the ones penguins build themselves. : We are making them because they actually work and make a real difference,” Mr Dawson said. โ I’m really chuffed that we’re actually using science and all this research to come up with the best nesting box we can.” The boxes are kitted out with ventilation holes which circulate cool air around the nest, while the walls function like double-glazed windows. Even the paint the volunteers use makes a difference with its thermal resistance and moisture prevention qualities.
A lot of work has been done to make sure the nesting boxes offer the penguins a comfortable place to nest.(Supplied: Rotary Club)
This science-led approach is achieved by close consultation between the volunteers, the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, and conservation biologist Erin Clitheroe.
“Sometimes [Erin] comes a bit sheepish saying ‘god, can we change it?’ But it’s not a problem โฆ we’re not making them for the sake of it,” Mr Dawson said.
Adapting to climate change
Nesting boxes have been used on Penguin Island for 40 years. Not only do they provide shelter for little penguins but the boxes help conservationists monitor breeding and population. โ These boxes are hopefully going to play a really important role in helping this population, adapt to climate change and hopefully recover in the future,” Dr Clitheroe said. Dr Clitheore completed a doctorate on the impact of climate change on the little penguins’ terrestrial habitat.
Dr Clitheroe works closely with the volunteers.(ABC News: Ruby Littler)
She said action was needed now.
“The sooner we act, the better chance we give these birds to recover,” she said. โ So we really need to start looking outside the box, so to speak, and start looking at novel ways that we can help this population adapt to changes in their marine environment.” Dr Clitheroe feared things could get worse as air and land temperature continued to increase. โ For those of us who live in Perth, we know that this summer has been particularly hot. That is something that this population is going to have to contend with more and more in the future as our climate continues to warm,” she said.
Possible extinction ‘within our generation’
University of WA researcher Belinda Cannell said there could be a repeat of the 2011 marine heatwave which saw water temperatures along the WA coast increase by 5 degrees. โ Since that marine heatwave, when the temperatures in the water were much warmer than average, the population has declined by 80 per cent.
So that’s been quite a devastating drop,” Dr Cannell said.Dr Cannell has been studying penguins for decades.(ABC News: Ruby Littler)
Within our generation this population could become extinct โฆ and it’s unfortunate because this is the northern and western most limit of the range in Western Australia.”
Dr Cannell has been studying little penguins for three decades, analysing their migration and breeding patterns. Her team conducted another population count of the Penguin Island colony in late 2023, with the revised numbers expected later this year. โ I’ve been satellite tracking and GPS tracking the penguins to find out their foraging habitats during the incubation period of the breeding season.”
Penguins are known to choose not to breed if the conditions are not right.(Supplied: Rotary Club)
When trying to understand the ecology of little penguins, Dr Cannell looks at factors like how many chicks per pair are bred, and the peak period of egg lay. This can vary from year to year depending on sea-surface temperatures.
Boats, jet skis kill penguins
Dr Cannell said climate change was not the only thing threatening the penguin population. Injuries from watercraft also put the colony at risk. โ A lot of people don’t even know that the little penguins are in our backyard. We have a high proportion of mortality due to watercraft injury, and that’s recreational boats and jet skis,” she said. โ People don’t go out to kill a penguin. They just don’t know that they’re there.” Penguins are also known to take a sabbatical โ opting not to breed if the conditions aren’t right. The research conducted on Penguin Island could help inform how other penguin colonies adapt to a warming climate. Dr Clitheroe said these flightless birds are already living in a hot part of the world compared to the rest of their species. โ We can learn and use this population to help other penguin populations who are going to be facing those same challenges,” Dr Clitheroe said.
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Infographic summarising the key traits and factors identified by the study that determine species risk to extinction. Miranta Kouvari (Science Graphic Design).
Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.16: 2024: The Conversation by Erin Saupeย Published: March 8, 2024 1.48pm GMT: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Linkย https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
Mass extinction: our fossil study reveals which types of species are most at risk from climate change
Despite the threat that climate change poses to biodiversity, we do not yet fully understand how it causes animals to go extinct. In our new paper, published in Science, we used the fossil record to make more precise estimates. The geological rock record provides critical insight on past extinctions caused by a variety of climate change events. Fossils therefore offer a rare opportunity to understand the mechanisms of extinction and investigate how climate shifts have led to extinction in the past. Understanding why species went extinct under natural, pre-human conditions is paramount, since human-induced extinction drivers are accumulating over time.
By identifying which traits are linked to extinction, we can potentially use this knowledge to identify at-risk species to prioritise in conservation efforts.
In our latest research article, we analysed a data set comprising over 290,000 marine invertebrate fossils, covering the last 485 million years of Earthโs history. We looked directly for the traits most crucial for survival in the geologic past. Previous studies have highlighted small body size and limited geographic range size (the spatial extent occupied by a species) as key predictors of extinction risk throughout geological history. We reconstructed the climate for 81 geological stages across the Phanerozoic (the current geological era, starting 541 million years ago). And we used climate models to determine the range of temperatures that each species can endure. These factors were then compared against geographic range size and body size to assess their relative importance. We then estimated an external factor that may impact risk of extinction: the magnitude of climate change experienced by each species. We assessed how the intrinsic traits, such as temperature tolerance and body size, compared to climate change in affecting a speciesโ risk of extinction. Our study is the first to directly compare traits to external factors in determining what drives extinction.
Example of a climate model used in our study, with continents in black and fossil occurrences as white dots. The climate model derived from the HadCM3BL-M2.1D model of Valdes et al.
Our findings revealed that species inhabiting climatic extremes, such as polar or equatorial regions, were particularly susceptible to extinction.
Species with a narrow thermal tolerance of approximately less than 15ยฐC faced a significantly higher risk of extinction. We also found that smaller-bodied species are more prone to extinction due to both climatic and other changes. However, the most important predictor of extinction risk was geographic range size. Species with smaller ranges, occupying more geographically-confined areas, had a higher likelihood of extinction.
Conservation is needed
Alarmingly, our research has, for the first time, identified climate change as a significant predictor of extinction, alongside other speciesโ traits. We observed that species subjected to local climate changes of 7ยฐC or greater across geological stages were significantly more likely to face extinction. This suggests that surpassing this climate change threshold increases the likelihood of extinction for a species, regardless of its other traits.
Infographic summarising the key traits and factors identified by the study that determine species risk to extinction. Miranta Kouvari (Science Graphic Design).
That said, the research shows that there is a cumulative effect of these variables on extinction risk. This underscores the importance of considering a broad spectrum of factors when assessing vulnerability to extinction.
For instance, a species residing in polar regions, characterised by a small geographic range size and body size, and subjected to significant climate change, would face a higher extinction risk than what might be inferred if considering only its geographic range. This holistic approach reveals the interplay between various biological and environmental factors in determining speciesโ survival over geological timescales.
Artistic reconstruction of a late Triassic undersea scene before (left) and after (right) a climate change-related extinction event.ย Credit: Maija Karala
Our research underscores the urgent challenge climate change poses to global biodiversity. But it also emphasises the necessity for continued research.
Many uncertainties remain when it comes to extinction risk, particularly around why certain traits confer extinction resistance and how traits interact to effect extinction risk. This additional research is essential to fully leverage our studyโs implications for conservation strategies. Without immediate and targeted conservation efforts, informed by a deeper understanding, we risk moving toward a sixth mass extinction event. So our work provides a pivotal call to action. We should mitigate climate change, but also do more research to bolster our understanding of the impacts on vulnerable species.
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Catriona Marshall and Harley McDonald-Eckersall are fighting for more rights for the animals.(ABC News: Andrew Altree-Williams)
On the eve of a state parliamentary inquiry, disturbing allegations of animal cruelty and a charge of bestiality have emerged at a Victorian Piggery. The seriousness of these allegations cannot be understated, and “Taking swift action is crucial! Let’s act fast and get the job done.” to ensure that these animals are protected and that those responsible for these heinous acts are held accountable. Such behaviour goes against the basic principles of compassion and respect for living creatures, and it is our responsibility as a society to speak out against it.
Warning: This story contains graphic allegations and images of animal cruelty that some readers may find disturbing.
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A pig at the Midland Bacon piggery in Victoria.(Supplied: Farm Transparency Project)normal
Last month activists from Farm Transparency Project broke into Midland Bacon at Carag Carag and installed secret cameras inside the facility which filmed about 18 days of vision.
The cameras captured legal industry practices including workers using blunt force to euthanase runt piglets as well as clipping teeth and docking tails, which is performed to prevent biting, injury and infection.
CCTV cameras installed by the activists also captured vision of a man allegedly performing a sexual act against a pig at the facility. 7.30 can reveal on Tuesday March 3 police charged 30-year-old Carag Carag man Bradley O’Reilly with bestiality after the activists reported the alleged act to police.
Mr O’Reilly will appear in court in June.
In a statement, a spokesman for Midland Bacon said it was “unable to comment on the police charge as this matter was now before the courts”. โ We are committed to humane processing practices, and our methods are in line with accepted industry standards โ We are audited twice a year to ensure we meet our legal responsibilities for livestock animal welfare.”
Pig welfare inquiry
Activists from Farm Transparency Project will give evidence about the vision filmed at Midland Bacon at a Victorian parliamentary inquiry into the welfare of farmed pigs on Tuesday, March 12.
A piggery worker is shown about to clip a piglet’s teeth.(Supplied: Farm Transparency Project)
Animal welfare expert Ellen Jongman reviewed the vision for 7.30 of Midland Bacon workers using blunt force to euthanase runt piglets, teeth clipping and tail docking. Dr Jongman said the vision was within industry standards but many farms were moving away from those practices. โ The process of moving to [national] animal welfare standards has been very slow. โ Part of the problem is that one of the states has to champion the development of animal welfare standards for a particular species. โ And that process has been very slow and it would be much better … if there was more of a national approach to that, and if there was a bit more of urgency behind it as well, because some of these codes are more than 20 years old. โ And you can imagine the changes that have happened in the last 20 years in terms of animal welfare.”
Catriona Marshall and Harley McDonald-Eckersall are fighting for more rights for the animals.(ABC News: Andrew Altree-Williams)
Farm Transparency Project Strategy and Campaigns director Harley McDonald-Eckersall told 7.30 that while the practices were legal, that did not make them right. โ We’re going to be approaching their inquiry, and basically saying what we’ve learned over decades of activists doing this work, which is that there is no form of animal confinement that is humane, that is ethical,” Ms McDonald-Eckersall said.
Victorian upper house Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell is calling for mandatory codes of practice in the industry.(ABC News: Emma Field)
Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell, who is chairing the inquiry into the welfare of farmed pigs, said the regulation of the pig industry was very confusing.
“We of course, have the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act in Victoria. But farmed animals are regularly exempt from it,” she said. Ms Purcell said codes of practice needed to be not only updated, but mandatory. โ They are voluntary right now. And when we look at our codes of practice for companion animals, they are mandatory,” Ms Purcell said. โ So essentially, it’s up to the pig industry and different farms to decide how they want to treat their animals.”
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Susan Close (left) wants a regulation change to give her the power to halt logging activity.(Supplied)
AceNewsDesk – South Australia’s environment minister says her department and the RSPCA are investigating after a “horrific” vision emerged this week of koalas scrambling up trees and falling through the air during logging operations on Kangaroo Island. Before we begin with this story, I just wanted to give you a quick heads-up. Some of the images included might be a bit intense for some readers. So, if you have a sensitive disposition, you might want to consider if you’re ready for this one.
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Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Mar.14: 2024: ABC South East SA News: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe
The footage, which aired on commercial television, shows koalas clinging to trees as others are felled, and one animal is seen climbing up a tree before the trunk below is cut, causing the koala to fall to the ground.
Minister Susan Close has told ABC Radio Adelaide that she was “rushing” to implement a regulation change to the National Parks and Wildlife Act to give her the power to halt logging activity that was not undertaken in accordance with a management plan. Under the standard protocol used by the forestry industry, spotters should be in place to locate koalas before trees are felled. If a koala is found, its tree and the eight surrounding it should then be left in place.
A koala lying on the ground inside a Kangaroo Island planation.(Supplied)
Ms Close said that although concerns had been raised with her department on several occasions since 2021, “comprehensive investigations” had found no evidence of non-compliance with this protocol.
The minister said the new footage showed the protocol was not being observed.
“I think everyone is horrified by seeing animals suffering like that. Seeing the distress and the pain is just absolutely appalling,” she said.
Kiland, the owner of more than 18,600 hectares of plantations on the island, and its contractor, Australian Agribusiness Group (AAG), voluntarily ceased operations this week after the footage was released.
Ms Close will meet with Kiland’s chief executive in Sydney on Monday and said her department was continuing to work on a plan to manage the increasing numbers of koalas including what the disappearance of the plantations would mean for the animals.
Susan Close (left) wants a regulation change to give her the power to halt logging activity.(Supplied)
In a statement, Kiland said the koala welfare policies being employed on the estate had been designed with the relevant government agencies.
“We believe they provide some of the highest levels of protection to the local koala population,” it said. โ The devastating bushfires of 2020 condemned the island’s plantation forestry estates, and therefore a large swathe of Kangaroo Island’s koala habitat, to ruin. โ Kiland is continuously evaluating further options to enhance koala welfare including additional spotters, additional specialised detection and care equipment, and dedicated habitat. โ The company is actively engaged in constructive dialogue with local conservationists to contribute to a sustainable solution and is in the final stages of providing, on favourable terms, some of Kiland’s best land on the estate to establish a koala sanctuary.” AAG, which has cleared more than 2,000 hectares, said it had had productive meetings with the government and RSPCA and was continuing to support their investigations. โ AAG is also continuing to conduct its own investigation. To date, this has found that while some of the footage shown by Channel 7 in its original story is from our plantations, it has become clear that some of the most distressing footage shown isn’t from the plantations being harvested by AAG. โ We have suspended harvesting pending a review of our koala management plan.”
Footage shocks people around the world
Opposition Leader and former environment minister David Speirs described the footage as embarrassing and said it could have a big impact on the tourism industry. โ It’s just shocking and there were no surprises here. These forests were full of koalas. It was well known when I was the minister that was the case before this felling started.” Kangaroo Island tourism operator Craig Wickham said it had been known for a long time that the koalas dislocated from the plantations would be an issue for the local environment and that he often showed visitors the result of over-browsing on the island’s remnant native vegetation.
More than 18,000 hectares of plantation trees will be felled and the land returned to pasture.(ABC South East: Caroline Horn)
He said it was important to note that the setting of the footage was not known.
“I’m not defending it in any way, but there is a risk, even with the most well-meaning people that they miss one,” he said. โ But it was very confronting and very upsetting. It may have been callous, careless or maybe someone has been caught out when someone happened to be around with a camera.” Mr Wickham said he had been contacted by industry colleagues who wanted to find out the context of the footage but had not yet encountered questions from visitors.
“The koala story is really complex,” he said.Tour operator Nikki Redman hopes Kiland will plant nature corridors to help stranded koalas.(Supplied: Nikki Redman)
Wildlife photographer and tour guide Nikki Redman works for two companies on the island and said she was not aware of any cancellations as a result of the release of the footage.
However, her social media page and a Facebook group she manages have been targeted, particularly by overseas users. She said she had been spammed with pictures of dead koalas and messages for her to “do something”. โ This is hurting us as locals,” she said. โ It’s horrific; I can’t handle [seeing] the footage, but people keep spamming it with me. I am sickened and disgusted by it but I am just one person.” Ms Redman said it was widely accepted on the island that the plantations needed to go but that there should have been a plan to manage the koala numbers following the devastating 2019-20 bushfires. โ I just hope Kiland plant nature corridors,” she said.
Wildlife worker overwhelmed by support
Katie Welz from the Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network said she had been overwhelmed by local, national, and international support since the footage aired. She said that while the island’s koala issues were vexing and divisive for locals, the issue was “completely about animal welfare and nothing else”.
Katie Welz wants the community to come together and find solutions.(ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)
If we can promote the other wildlife that’s also being injured and displaced, I think we are doing our job.”
“We want the blue gums gone like everyone else. We understand how horrific they are … but you can’t just forget that when a forest has been left it’s going to become habitat.” Ms Welz said wildlife workers wanted to “sit down at the table” and talk about what was going to be done to protect the animals before logging recommenced. โ There’s a lot of work to still happen but this is certainly a wonderful outcome for the wildlife.”
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Conservationists have bred the eastern barred bandicoot in captivity to revive the species.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
AceNewsDesk – When Phillip Island’s Mark Korvin recently spotted his first eastern barred bandicoot, it was shortly after a fellow surfer had dropped some nuts on the ground in a bluff car park.
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The eastern barred bandicoot was declared extinct in the wild on mainland Australia in 2013.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)normal
โ I think the main thing that brought it out was the smell of salted peanuts,” Mr Korvin said.
“Here’s this bandicoot that’s come out of the grass and is chomping into peanuts.” Mr Korvin is not alone in sighting an eastern barred bandicoot on the island for the first time recently. The population of marsupials has grown after Phillip Island Nature Parks and the eastern barred bandicoot recovery team introduced them to the island in 2017. Now the team believes it has been a “remarkable” success.
Island recovery plan
Scientists released 67 eastern barred bandicoots to Phillip Island after they were declared extinct in the wild in 2013 on mainland Australia. Phillip Island Nature Parks senior scientist Duncan Sutherland said the species had now spread from one end of the island to the other.
The eastern barred bandicoot was declared extinct in the wild on mainland Australia in 2013.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
โ They’re getting seen in people’s backyards, in public spaces like parklands, even down on the beaches, there’s all sorts of sightings all over the island, it’s amazing,” Dr Sutherland said. โ As far as we know, it’s the first species to go from extinct in the wild to be relisted to endangered and no longer require a captive breeding program.” On the same night surfer Mr Korvin saw his first bandicoot, another darted across the road in front of him on his drive home. โ At first glance, if you didn’t know anything, you’d think there’s a big rat or something, then you suddenly realise it has stripes on it,” Mr Korvin said. Thanks to the rise in the species, a range of agencies have installed bandicoot-specific road signs โ and Mr Korvin hopes motorists will notice and be vigilant on the road.
There are wildlife signs specific to eastern barred bandicoots on Phillip Island roads.(Supplied: Mark Korvin)
A ‘torrid’ history
Despite now thriving, these pointy-nosed marsupials were not historically known on Phillip Island, but rather were found in grassy basalt plains in western Victoria and eastern South Australia. Dr Sutherland said they had a “torrid” history and by the 1970s, there were grave concerns for the species’ future. โ By the end of the 1980s โฆ their last little refuge was in amongst the rubbish and debris in the Hamilton tip,” he said. Conservationists started a captive breeding program at the time, and a formalised recovery team began planning to revive the species.
Conservationists have bred the eastern barred bandicoot in captivity to revive the species.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
Over the next few decades, scientists made several efforts to release bandicoots into fenced reserves, out of reach of feral foxes.
It became pretty evident that if foxes had any access to those bandicoot populations, then the bandicoots were wiped out and wiped out pretty quickly,” Dr Sutherland said. Dr Sutherland is now the chair of the eastern barred bandicoot recovery team and said Phillip Island was chosen as a release site for its fox-free status. But before scientists went ahead with the release, they used nearby Churchill Island as a trial site. โ It’s this amazing spot where we can test these ideas โฆ but also, really importantly, show people what it’s like having bandicoots running around,” he said.
Duncan Sutherland says Phillip Island was chosen as a release site for its fox-free status.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
Bandicoots ‘docile’ and ‘curious’
Once the population plateaued on Churchill Island, this gave researchers the confidence to release them on Phillip Island. Louise Nicholls, who has a holiday house at Phillip Island, describes the excitement of seeing a bandicoot at her place for the first time recently. โ We got down in the evening to Phillip Island and my husband went to open the gate โฆ and said, ‘There’s something in the driveway, I don’t think it’s a rat, it’s got a longer nose’,” Ms Nicholls said. โ I jumped out of the seat, and I ran around โฆ we could see it in the light going through the fence โฆ it didn’t even run away when I opened the gate.”
Louise Nicholls was thrilled to see this bandicoot at her holiday house on Phillip Island.(Supplied: Louise Nicholls)
Dr Sutherland said eastern barred bandicoots were an example of a native species humans had lost connection with. โ It’s amazing to watch kids seeing an eastern barred bandicoot for the first time,” he said. โ They’ve just got this attitude โฆ a level of confidence to them, but they’re lovely in the hand, they’re quite docile.” The nocturnal animals are fast on their feet too. โ They can outrun a rabbit without any problems at all, they’re just incredibly quick when they decide to go,” he said. โ They’re inquisitive and curious, which might be part of the reason they’re struggling on a conservation level.”
Eastern barred bandicoots are docile and inquisitive.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
Cats are predators
Dr Sutherland said the next step was to create strategies to allow them to persist on the mainland, beyond pest exclusion fences. Eastern barred bandicoots are now listed as endangered, and as well as foxes, cats are a main predator. โ The other threat is the disease that cats spread in the environment, which is called toxoplasmosis,” Dr Sutherland said.
Eastern barred bandicoots were released on Churchill Island for a trial before being released on Phillip Island in 2017.(Supplied: Phillip Island Nature Parks)
Key sites on the mainland where the species now live include at Hamilton, Mount Rothwell near Geelong, Woodlands Historic Park near Melbourne airport, and a farm in western Victoria called Tiverton. They also live on Tasmania and French Island.
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