I should have stayed home this morning!!! I wanted to find some Lyrebirds, so I thought I’d drive up to Sherbrook. I pulled into the “Grant’s Picnic Grounds” in the Dandenongs. I should NOT have done it. It was early in the morning, about 8.30, there were already 3 Tourist Busses packed with mainly Asian Tourists. Most of them bought a large dish filled with seeds, standing in a fenced off area, Wild Birds(?) on their heads. There were Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Corellas, Rosellas and Galahs . I felt so bad watching this, I felt our beautiful treasures of nature were being violated. Those birds will be eating and eating all day, getting sick and sacrifice their lives for the people that own the Tea-rooms, and sell souvenirs and THOSE SEEDS. I only took some photos of one sick looking Cockatoo with a crippled foot and loosing feathers in his face. He had problems walking, and I watched him trying to eat, with very little success . (I would love to do something about this place, they even advertise on planes landing in Melbourne. I was told by the council some time ago, it’s all legal, they have permits to do this .)
Here is a phot of the sick looking Cockatoo:
Have they not heard of psiticosis? (hope i spelt that right)?
Or even the liabillity of a cockies pair of snips taking an ear or finger off?
Just a different perspective on this issue.
Oh wait it would be the birds fault if that happens because the can't defend themselves.
When is our government going to get this right?
There you go i have had my spray for the day back to work now!
ML that is one place that you should just avoid! You will never change that place as it is a huge tourist attraction, only 3 buses must have been a slow morning.
Based on what others have posted about the RSPCA I suppose a report to that august organisation would be a wase of time. Would one of the sensational media outlets (A Current Affair, for example) be interested in beating up this issue to boost its rantings....oops....ratings? Or do we just suffer, along with the birds, in silence? Would The Greens be helpful? Letters to the editor? This sort of thing makes me feel so powerless.
It almost makes me feel sick, but there are quite a few people on here, that go there, to me this is supporting this horrible exploitation of our wild birds, and sacrificing their health on the altar of the tourist dollar. I wish, people wouldn't add to their post, taken at.... and name that place,that promotes it even more. What can you do? Nothing, it's like running into a brick wall.
M-L
Here Here ML. There is an old article online but i dont know how to put the link on.
If you get caught feeding them at Sherbrooke Picnic Ground you can get fined $113.00. Grants is only 1km away, pretty stupid huh. The problem is Grants have had a permit since 1975. And the other stupid thing is both are owned by Parks Victoria.
How about a few letters to Parks Victoria highlighting the problem, not to mention the contradiction in their behaviour which you've highlighted, cathshane?
I'm wondering if there's much native vegetation around these places. If not, perhaps the tea room owners could be encouraged to substitute indigenous native vegetation for tourist seeds.
I havent been there for years, but from i can remember there is native vegetation there and its quite dense in places Woko. I seriously doubt the tea room owners would substitute the seeds for anything as they sell it.
Its not just the cocky's and rosellas that people need to think about it's the possiblity of the diesase spreading to the lyrebirds as well.
I really can't see this problem ever stopping.People power maybe but it will take alot of people.