Media release – Bob Brown Foundation, 9 February 2025

LEONARDO DICAPRIO CALLS FOR SWIFT PARROT PROTECTION AND END TO NATIVE FOREST LOGGING NATIONWIDE

Bob Brown Foundation is celebrating the release of an Instagram post by Leonardo DiCaprio calling for swift parrot protection and an end to native forest logging in Tasmania and Australia. Reaching 62 million around the globe, this is global coverage for the critically endangered swift parrot that is on the path to extinction due to logging.

“Leonardo DiCaprio has put Tasmania on the map big time, and the plight of the swift parrot is now well and truly global. We are delighted to see Leonardo’s full endorsement of our campaign to end native forest logging and save the critically endangered swift Parrots. We are inviting Leonardo to Tasmania to see this beautiful island, its forests and wildlife for himself,” Bob Brown said.

“Right now, we are on the frontline in Tasmania’s swift parrot breeding habitat, blockading forests on the logging schedule. Elsewhere in Tasmania, we have secured an interim injunction on logging in breeding habitat that was happening at the end of last year while the parrots were in the same forests. Across the critically endangered parrot’s breeding habitat, there are many forests threatened by logging when they need to be in secure conservation reserves now,” Jenny Weber said.

DiCaprio Instagram post states: Australian Conservationists have won a temporary injunction to stop logging in Tasmania nesting sites of the Critically Endangered swift parrot. A recent report highlights the shocking scale of ongoing destruction, despite the recommendation from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to halt logging of native forests where these parrots nest.

The Australian government has promised that it will prevent any new extinctions. Conservationists continue to encourage them to uphold their zero extinction commitment. The only way to protect the swift parrot, and hundreds of other threatened Australian forest species, is to end native forest logging across Australia and Tasmania.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s post about swift parrots:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C3GlyQpg5c7/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D

https://www.instagram.com/leonardodicaprio

Media release – Vica Bayley MP, Greens Environment spokesperson, 9 February 2024

Greens Welcome DiCaprio’s Plea to Save the Swift Parrot

The Tasmanian Greens warmly welcome Academy Award Winner Leonardo DiCaprio’s public support for protecting the habitat of the critically endangered swift parrot.

The swift parrot has been pushed to the brink of extinction by the logging and burning of native forests.

Given the grave situation, it’s no surprise more and more voices from around the world are speaking out to ensure this iconic species has a future. It’s great to see Leonardo DiCaprio joining the chorus.

If Hollywood stars get it, why won’t Liberal and Labor politicians?

Tassie’s global reputation is built on our clean and green brand, but Liberal and Labor are undermining it with their support for native forest logging and burning. As international attention on the plight of the swift parrot grows, more people are going to see the truth of the destruction that still happens in Tasmanian forests.

The only way to protect the swift parrot, and to protect our hard-won international reputation, is to make sure this island’s native forests are protected.

The Liberals can lock protestors up, or lock them out of forests, but their efforts are in vain. The majority of Tasmanians want to see native forests protected, they want the swift parrot to survive, and they want a safer climate. That means ending native forest logging.