Most people would answer ‘Yes’ to that questionbut they’d be wrong. Local lawyer Margaret Rimmer picked up a badly injured, pellet-laden Sulphur-crested Cockatoo from her yard last month. The man who shot it told her he had a licence from EPA.
The bird had to be euthanased. Further investigation with EPA confirmed that the man did hold a licence to kill cockatoos. Margaret was horrified, “How can a
government department condone and licence this? There’s no policing of it and no process to ensure that it’s done humanely.”
Donna Anthony of Wildlife Volunteers said,“It’s just sad – on one hand you have wildlife carers spending so much time and money on caring for injured and orphaned wildlife, usually the result of human impact in some shape or form. On the other hand you have an unpoliced licence allowing people to kill.”
Further discussions will be held with EPA regarding these licences. We’ll update you with the outcome.
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