<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/27/how-dare-they-swift-parrot-slowly-losing-critical-habitat-as-tasmania-logs-native-forest>
"Rob Blakers has been a landscape and wildlife photographer in Tasmania for
more than four decades. He specialises in taking the time to capture images
deep within the state’s wilderness that others won’t, or can’t.
Last summer he spent time in the Eastern Tiers, about two hours’ drive
north-east of Hobart, climbing trees to take photos of the critically
endangered swift parrot. In one shot he took a still of 12 birds in one tree.
He estimates there were about 30 – about 4% of the estimated remaining wild
population – nesting and feeding in the area.
“It was extraordinary,” Blakers said on Tuesday. “I have only spent a few years
looking for swift parrots, but this was far above anything else I’ve ever seen
– just having the consistency of them all being in this place. They are really
active birds, and there isn’t anything else I’ve seen like this.”
On Tuesday Blakers returned to the same patch of forest planning to get
arrested.
The Tasmanian government logging agency, Sustainable Timber Tasmania, had begun
felling trees in the area as part of its native forest logging program. The
photographer was part of a group of 10 protesters connected to the Bob Brown
Foundation that entered the logging coupe about 8.30am and waited for the
police to be called.
Other protesters left the area when asked by police. Blakers refused and was
charged with trespassing. He later said he felt “surprised, then furious” when
he heard the area was being logged. He said he felt he had to act.
“My reaction was: how dare they? How can they just so brazenly ignore all of
the science, all of the advice they have received, and just go in and smash
this forest?” he said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
