Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 23 June 2023
swift parrot defenders protest against logging in breeding forest
Twenty people are protesting today at the site of newly discovered swift parrot logging of Tasmania’s Eastern Tiers. A community occupation of forests is underway to protect this important swift parrot breeding and feeding habitat.
“We are here today to ensure that no more habitat is lost to logging. We have scores of recorded sightings, nesting sites and reams of recorded sounds of swift parrot activity in this coupe that are being ignored,” said Erik Hayward, Bob Brown Foundation Campaigner.
“Photographic evidence of swift parrots, in these forests to breed, was taken in the same location just months ago in the middle of the breeding season. These feeding and nesting trees are now being logged with the sanction of the Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek and Tasmania’s Premier Rockliff,” Erik Hayward said.
“Swift parrots have been returning to the Eastern Tiers for generations, with their habitat hollows and feeding grounds being logged faster than they can regrow,” Erik Hayward said.
“It takes hundreds of years for a tree to reach an age where the hollows are suitable for breeding. We are witnessing the most ramped-up logging of forests across Tasmania that are critical to the survival of the swift parrot. At a time when the native forest logging industry is in decline, we must not lose the habitat of a critically endangered species in the rush to log as much as possible before the industry falls over,” Erik Hayward said.
Angus
June 24, 2023 at 13:31
It’s insane to log an endangered species breeding ground, especially one that has received so much money and effort to keep it going in the wild!
Tasmania needs to stop native logging asap, but of course the industry will try to take as much as it can now. So much for great environmental tourism!