CUMBERLAND BIRD OBSERVERS CLUB
Birdwatching in Sydney since 1979
Affiliated with BirdLife Australia
SAVE RIVERSTONE WETLANDS
Riverstone Wetlands, a vital refuge for nine species of migratory shorebirds and visited by over 170 different species of birds, are threatened with destruction. They are the only significant wetlands in Western Sydney that are outside the natural floodplain and therefore flood free. The migratory shorebirds come from as far away as Korea, Japan and Russia, and require shallow, nutrient-rich wetlands to feed in. They cannot feed in flooded areas. Australia is legally bound to protect these species under international agreements.
The NSW Government is proposing to bulldoze the wetlands to create industrial estates. It is planning to ‘relocate’ the wetlands by creating smaller, deeper ponds on the nearby floodplain.
Submissions on this proposal have closed but there will be further opportunities for us to take action on this issue.
BAN THE SALE OF RAT POISONS
Native Australian birds including Powerful Owls, Southern Boobooks, Wedge-tailed Eagles and Tawny Frogmouths, as well as mammals like Quolls and Tasmanian Devils, and family pets, are dying from rat poison in particular from Second-generation Anticoagulant Rodenticide poisons (SGARs). The public sale of these poisons needs to be stopped.
APVMA, the national regulator, has undertaken a review of SGARs but instead of proposing that they be banned, it is proposing a set of inadequate measures that will not stop birds and other animals dying.
BirdLife Australia has created a pre-filled submission that you can send to APVMA calling for the public sale of SGARS to be banned.
You can find more information about this issue and the submission here. Remember to put your name at the top of your submission.
You can ask the NSW Government to support the bill by sending this pre-filled email to the Premier and the two relevant Ministers.
CONTAINING PET CATS
Every night across Australia, roaming pet cats kill more than 800,000 native animals. That’s hundreds of millions of lost wildlife every year - birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals. As well, roaming cats face higher rates of car strikes, disease and injury.
A bill has been introduced into the NSW parliament which will give local councils the power to require cat owners to keep their pets safely contained, just as we already expect and require of dog owners. It will bring NSW into line with most other parts of Australia.
This reform is supported by the RSPCA, the Biodiversity Council, WIRES, veterinarians, and councils right across NSW.
