Wildlife: a changing climate is not their only concern
Wallabies and other macropods face an uncertain future as habitat is cleared. Image greghardwick.com.au
I wish that we could blame the decline of our Australian native species on one major influence such as climate change, but unfortunately that is not the only problem facing our wildlife.
Human impact, in many forms, have been the direct culprit from the moment humans stepped onto this beautiful country. As the population has increased over the years, so has the devastation and pollution.
Constantly we are bombarded with the fact that habitat destruction is leading to the depletion of wildlife numbers. Well, it would be imagined that by this time we would have actually done something, instead of just talking.
While Queensland mumbled on about changing legislation regarding clearing practices some years ago, property owners cleared their land ‘just in case’.
On a recent visit to North Queensland, I remembered the impact this proposed legislation had on the tree kangaroo populations up in the Tableland areas.
Wildlife carers see few of these unique animals now. They became victims of cars and domestic pets as their habitat was cleared at an incredible pace for no purpose other than ‘we might need it cleared sometime in the future’.
Plastic rings at the top of these bottles are often found around birds’ necks.
In our south-eastern area of Queensland we saw the closing of the sugar mill in Nambour, which led to the demise of the cane-growing industry. The Government excelled itself by subsidising fencing so that cattle could be run on this land.
What a pity they didn’t have the sense to stipulate the type of fencing. Once again, wildlife were given no consideration. While many property owners are replacing their barbed wire with wildlife friendly fencing, others have been subsidised to install fencing which causes the slow agonising death of gliders, birds, bats and macropods.
In our normal day-to-day existence, household rubbish holds many items detrimental to our wildlife. Plastic bags are not the only culprit. Though everyone tries to recycle their plastic bottles, many are unaware of the dangers even when these bottles are properly recycled. I have seen horrific images of what happens when the plastic rings at the top of these bottles are found around birds’ necks or turtles shells. As the animal grows these rings do not disintegrate or break.
Hopefully, one day we will see these manufactured so that the rings break when the bottles are opened. Until then, it is up to us to cut these plastic rings to prevent injuries to our animals.
Last but not least, the safety of all our Australian native wildlife depends on domestic animals being controlled. Another hope for the future is that laws on domestic pets will be updated and enforced.
The future of our wildlife depends on us as responsible human beings.
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