Council’s decision to close aviary bird- brained

ON May 13 last year Mayor Jenny Hill emailed me about the Queens Gardens Aviary: “Council has no plans to remove the Aviary,” the mayor said.

She then continued that she supported the birds and was happy that others ( like me) did, also.

But one year later, the council has closed the Queens Gardens aviary without any community consultation. There is a very serious question of animal welfare and government accountability here and that is why I am writing this article.

For many years, that aviary was one of Queens Gardens’ most cherished features. It was the home of beloved Townsville birds – peacocks, lorikeets, ducks, chickens, corellas, galahs and sulphur crested cockatoos.

Numerous were rescue birds, who would not have survived in the wild ( for example a little parrot who was blind in one eye), so the aviary was truly their home. The love and joy they brought the Townsville community was legend.

The birds were visited regularly by old folks groups, parents and grand parents with young children, local residents treated them like pets, and tourists loved hearing the parrots talk.

In recent years, there were problems with snakes, so I successfully lobbied the council for snake wire and protested against the dumping of snakes near the aviary by snake catchers. Crucially, I repeatedly offered $ 1000 cash in case the aviary needed upgrading/ replacing. I also offered to find a sponsor or other benefactors. Plus I offered my time ( free) to perform basic care functions eg, cleaning cages. I know other Townsville residents would have helped.

Despite all of that, the aviary was closed without any of the many offers of support being taken up by council. Why? I wrote to the council staff after Cyclone Debbie to check the birds were OK. I was assured they were fine – no mention of a move. In early May I noticed some birds were gone and wrote to council again. Council staff only responded to me after the aviary was closed.

The council is claiming animal welfare. But as a lawyer ( who has published in some of the world’s leading law journals on animal cruelty), I find their case hard to believe. They never took up any of my community- funded options that were aimed at animal welfare. Why? How is it in the interests of the birds to move them from their home at their age? How does it serve the people of Townsville who loved them? Why not consult?

The residual question I have referred to the RSPCA is what has actually happened to those birds, especially the peacock and the little parrot that was blind in one eye? The council says they have gone to good homes, but can we be sure of that, given the history of this matter? ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR DR LOUISE FLOYD,

JCU Law School.