Short-Tailed Shearwaters: Stop the Slaughter

“The Tasmanian Government must stop the annual slaughter of Short-tailed Shearwater chicks.” said Chris Simcox, spokesperson for Animals Tasmania. “These infant migratory seabirds are soon to be the victims of yet another brutal killing season sanctioned by our Government. Nowhere else in the world is this allowed.”

Short-tailed Shearwaters perform an amazing migratory feat each year, flying 15,000 km from the northern hemisphere to breed in south-eastern Australia. They take up to two months to make the journey. After breeding they fly 15,000 km back to their northern feeding grounds.

“These amazing seabirds fly all the way to Tasmania to raise a single chick. In a matter of minutes that chick can be dead, at the hands of a selfish human. Thousands meet this same fate every year. This is no way to treat native wildlife. This is a violent practice out of the dark ages of ignorance.

Tasmanian Conservation Trust Director Peter McGlone supported the call for the recreational killing of Shearwaters to be banned, stating “The recent admission that children are being given licences lends credibility to our long held concern that many people who obtain licences cannot quickly and humanely kill a Shearwater chick. Due to the remote location of the ‘open’ colonies, DPIPWE will not have the resources to visit many of these sites. DPIPWE cannot rule out the possibility that children and adults are killing these birds in a very prolonged and cruel manner.”

“Short-tailed Shearwaters are in serious trouble. They are competing with humans for decreasing food sources, and they are suffering from increasing levels of plastic ingestion. Hundreds of thousands of birds died in ‘wrecks’ in four out of the past seven years, due to starvation or exhaustion. Breeding was poor last year with few chicks reaching adulthood. Shearwaters are doing it tough and the last thing they need is for humans to kill their strong and healthy young. We urge the Government to stop this senseless slaughter.” concluded Mr Simcox.

Chris Simcox, Animals Tasmania,
Peter McGlone, Tasmanian Conservation Trust.