Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 7 September 2022
Time ticking for threatened species – Tasmanian Premier must act to protect wildlife
Today, peaceful protesters will demonstrate outside Parliament House in nipaluna / Hobart to draw attention to National Threatened Species Day. On this day, 7 September, in 1936, the last known Tasmanian Tiger died in captivity and the species was declared extinct.
Australia currently has the worst mammal extinction rate of any country in the world. Human-caused activities such as habitat destruction, logging of native forests, mining, the spread of invasive species, overharvesting and climate change have caused many Australian and Tasmanian species to become threatened with the risk of extinction. Environmental protesters are urging the government to act promptly and not to wait until more species go extinct before offering proper protection to threatened species.
“Premier Rockliff can start taking action today to protect wildlife from further decline in numbers and habitat. A great start to protect wildlife would be to stop logging native forests in Tasmania. There is no place for this kind of logging in 2022. We can do better than this,” said Dr Colette Harmsen, environmentalist and Bob Brown Foundation volunteer.
Today, activists dressed as threatened species, including masked owls, spotted-tailed quolls, Tasmanian devils, grey goshawks and swift parrots, gathered outside parliament to urge politicians to take urgent and immediate action to protect and conserve these species that are on the brink of extinction.
“Time is running out for these special species, which are unique to Tasmania. To lose these species, which are so important for the ecosystems and which are found nowhere else in the world, would be an absolute disgrace. The federal and state governments must take urgent action now before it is too late,” Dr Harmsen said.
“Tasmania’s Premier Rockliff has the shameful decline of the critically endangered swift parrot to address. Recent reports indicate that swift parrot habitat continues to be logged by Forestry Tasmania despite recommendations by experts that all Swift Parrot habitat should be immediately protected,” Dr Harmsen said.
Protest starts at 1pm today on Parliament House lawns, Hobart.
