ON THE WING
Two wedge-tailed eagles soared high in the sky as supporters of the Raptor and Wildlife Refuge of Tasmania gathered to mark another milestone in the organisation’s history. The refuge’s founder, Craig Webb, announced the launch of a dedicated 24hour hotline for the public to report injured and dead raptors.
Despite its endangered status, eagle numbers in Tasmania are under severe threat. There are only about 100 nesting pairs in the state and at the current rate of decline this population is unsustainable.
The hotline, at 1800 Raptor, is designed to centralise data collection in Tasmania and provide statistical weight to existing evidence about the threats facing our magnificent birds of prey, including “the wedgie” and the white-bellied sea eagle. It will help identify locations where mitigation measures could be implemented to reduce eagle death and injury associated with electricity infrastructure, vehicles, wind turbines, fences and persecution.
Since it opened more than a decade ago, the raptor refuge has rehabilitated not just injured raptors but other birds and animals, and returned survivors to the wild.
Craig admits the refuge’s efforts in this regard will not halt the decline of eagles but says the eagle releases especially, often reported in the press and on TV, serve to put the threat to raptors in the spotlight and raise public awareness.
The Tasmanian Government has provided funds for the hotline, which was officially launched late last month by Environment Minister Elise Archer. At the time she said the Government had amended the Threatened Species Act to lift penalties for those harming wildlife.
“This sends a message that killing eagles will not be tolerated,” she said as two eagles spiralled overhead.
Craig Webb has in the last year visited South Africa where groundbreaking work has been carried out to protect eagles and other wildlife from that country’s extensive electricity transmission network.
South Africa’s Endangered Wildlife Trust has worked with the governmentowned power utility and Craig has developed a similar relationship with TasNetworks to alleviate the threat to eagles from electricity infrastructure in Tasmania. Craig described the problems faced in South Africa as “mammoth”. The power authority had to deal with rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, cranes, eagles and other birds contacting power lines.
“However, I witnessed first-hand how these two organisations have worked together to find solutions and their system works,” he said. Craig has established a similar working arrangement with TasNetworks to alleviate the threat to Tasmanian raptors. TasNetworks officials were at the hotline launch.