Creative Cowboy films
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Planet Earth
“Some of the most precious moments in our lives are those spent with other animals in the natural world. Learning about the diversity of animal and plant life and filming and photographing that diversity is one of the most enthralling, enjoyable and creative things we can do”.
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“Of the nine million species that live on Planet Earth, one million species are threatened with extinction, many more will follow”.
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Become a campaign champion. Choose and donate to one of our campaigns. Living with wildlife — Kangaroos are forever — Action on wildlife crime
Become a campaign champion. Choose and donate to one of our campaigns. Living with wildlife — Kangaroos are forever — Action on wildlife crime
Life on land
"When dealing with a species people always delude themselves as to numbers, oh there are plenty of those, is the usual phrase."
Earth
Emu
This blog is about friendships with Emus and anecdotes from old friends regarding this remarkable bird.
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In Durrell's footsteps
In 2012 Andrea and Peter Hylands travelled to Corfu to catch up with the Durrell team.
Counting Kangaroos in Victoria 2020
Remaining Grey Kangaroo populations will increasingly be associated with land for wildlife properties, the edge of towns, public lands and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres.
Counting Kangaroos in Victoria: Update May 2021
After Victoria’s most catastrophic fires on record, its government claims a steep rise in the Kangaroo population.
Out of time
So in this story (from April 2021) I take another look at what is going on in Australia’s State of Victoria.
The lawless nature of Australia
January 2022, we are filming Australian wildlife at the edge of a National Park in the West of Victoria.
Snapshot: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Western Australia
Two species of Kangaroo are currently killed for commercial gain in Western Australia, the Red Kangaroo and the Western Grey Kangaroo.
Snapshot: Exploitation of Kangaroos and Wallabies in Tasmania
There are a number of significant concerns in relation to wildlife in Tasmania.
Kangaroo: October 2022 update Victoria
There is plenty of evidence that Kangaroo populations in Victoria are vanishing, and fast.
Cripes, Australia is running out of Koalas
Come with us to Sydney’s very beautiful Macquarie Street and its house of wisdom and modernity. Come inside and listen.
Nature notes from an Australian summer
We spend a day in the bushlands around the farming region of Yea in the Australian state of Victoria.
Queensland: Making Terra Nullius
Queensland and its species: Extinct, threatened and vulnerable species
The Kangaroo family and the distribution of species
Regional extinctions are also commonplace as the range (distribution) of a species contracts and fragments.
South Australia: Places and species
This analysis (2018) lists the extinct, endangered, vulnerable and rare species in South Australia. Here I have just added mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and plant species.
Cities and dreams: Understanding animal population numbers
This is a story about Kangaroos, about cities and how we visualise and understand numbers.
In good hands: The story of a rescue
So with Kangaroos in mind, once more we make the long journey from Melbourne to Bathurst in New South Wales.
The Pangolin and the Kangaroo
If we destroy species and habitats, you do not have to be a genius to understand the result.
The fine line: Democracy and the abuse of wildlife in Canberra
The people who attempt to protect the wildlife are ignored and demeaned by their politicians.
Some things never change
On the day of writing this, Australia released its State of the environment report – written last year and slipped in the draw until a change of Government in Canberra.
Cooking the books: Kangaroos in Australia
In 2017 the permits issued in Victoria to kill Red Kangaroos exceeded their entire state population estimates by 2,187 animals.
Koalas to burn: Winter and wildlife in Victoria
This report contains reflections on a trip in Western Victoria in June 2022.
Gerald Durrell and Corfu
What I think was so important about Corfu and Gerry’s time there was it triggered in him a lifelong and entirely focused passion about the natural world.
Kindness and cruelty: Our relationship with animals
We step back more than a decade, I wanted to explore how our relationship with animals was changing as societies and cultures around the world adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. The answer today, badly.
Steve Garlick at Possumwood
In these bleak blackened landscapes of South Eastern Australia the sound of silence, of nature destroyed.
Snapshot: The commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria
In order to maintain the Kangaroo population estimates, new shooting zones and regions are added as others close because the Kangaroos are gone.
Snapshot: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in New South Wales
In 2022 the population estimate has again increased to 10.9 million Kangaroos across the 15 Kangaroo shooting zones, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared to the survey results of the previous year.
Hogwash, greenwash and the killing of Canberra’s Kangaroos
In 2019 just over 4,000 Kangaroos were killed in these parks, in 2020 it was 1,958.
Snapshot: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Queensland
Setting the quotas for 2022 - In 2021, all 22 survey monitor blocks in Queensland were surveyed.
Trauma
Dr Rosemary Austen describes the impact of acts of extreme cruelty to Australian wildlife on human populations.
The killing begins: Isaacs Ridge, Canberra
This ACT Government says Isaacs Ridge Nature Reserve is important for conservation of local wildlife and their habitats..
The Sooty Kangaroo: Pet food or threatened species?
Spin and mischief cannot conceal these terrible crimes against the natural world.
A dedicated life
One thing that would be worse than failing to achieve anything and to save anything, would be to stop trying.
Possumwood: Australian wildlife veterinary hospital
Professor Steve Garlick tells us about how the hospital provides help to Australia’s embattled wildlife.
For the love of Kangaroos
“There is even more intimidation, this stuff is real, this stuff happens”. Greg Keightley
Chance would be a fine thing
In this film in the Kangaroo testimonies series, Emma, from Sweden, expresses her dismay about what she has learnt since visiting Australia.
Another silent spring?
Manfred Zabinskas OAM and Peter Hylands discuss the circumstances that Australia’s wildlife in Victoria is now facing.
The constant carer
What I have always noticed, since first visiting Australia, is just how wonderful individual Australian animals are.
Exclusion
In November 2021 we visited the Morning Peninsula in Victoria, specifically Cape Schanck and the immediate region.
A twisted light: Dunkeld and the killing of Kangaroos
The suffering of Kangaroos, in terms of scale, the methods of harm, are acknowledged internationally for their extreme cruelty.
They come without warning in the night
The next day is ruined in terms of any possibility of working and so the damage continues.
The yogi, the tourist and the Kangaroo’s head
High powered rifles and rural residential zonings do not mix. Nor do high powered rifles, tourists and tourism businesses.
A dog's breakfast: the unsustainable exploitation of wildlife
Tonight, Australia’s commercial trade in wildlife, will kill many more adults Kangaroos.
Summer's solstice: Dunkeld & the killing of Kangaroos
Long days and even longer nights, waiting and waiting more, waiting for the Kangaroo killers to return.
If it moves, shoot it: Kangaroos in the education state
In February 2024 I find myself in the footsteps of Dr Jim Cairns (former deputy PM) in precisely the same venue, the Melbourne Town Hall, and talking about precisely the same topic, Kangaroos.
Australia: Divergence of actual commercial take of Kangaroos from quotas
This analysis gives Kangaroo population estimates (from 2002) and quotas and actual take since 1980 for the Australian mainland.
Strewth! Legislative Council in New South Wales and Kangaroos
A rebuttal of international concerns regarding treatment of Kangaroos from the New South Wales Legislative Council.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in New South Wales to 30 September
This analysis describes actual take in New South Wales to 30 September 2024 (including returns due on 10 October 2024).
Grazie Italia: Salva Canguri
Italian MPs and leading companies stand up against the commercial slaughter of Kangaroos.
Reflecting on 50 years
The NGO International Film Festival is held in Melbourne some 50 years after Andrea and I first came to the city.
Bad business: Approval of Victoria’s 2024-2028 Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan
Kangaroo silly season is coming as population estimates and quotas are announced. The Kangaroo facts for Victoria are these..
Unprotecting the unprotected: Dingoes in Victoria
Unprotection of Australian wildlife is sinister, despite Victorian Government claims, because there are no controls over what happens.
Questions and answers
Ellen Sandell MP, the eminent state member for Melbourne, attempts to shed a light on the Kangaroo situation in Victoria.
Duckworth, Booker: Washington update
The Senators’ Kangaroo Protection Act would ban the sale and manufacturing of products made from Kangaroo skin, as well as the sale of Kangaroo skin itself.
South Australia: Draft Commercial Kangaroo Management Plan 2025–2029 - Nature Knowledge Channel submission
Given South Australia’s Kangaroo Inquiry, the opportunity arises for a thorough review of the Draft Commercial Kangaroo Management Plan.
2025: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Queensland
As per usual, Queensland is the first to publish it latest Kangaroo population estimates and commercial quotas. Here they are.
South Australian Government Kangaroo Inquiry
Thursday 12 September 2024, the South Australian Government approves Kangaroo Inquiry.
Harm done: Where to next for Victoria’s protected Australian species?
Why are, what the world perceives to be iconic species, treated with such distain in Australia? The answer lies in the decades of propaganda and a colonial past.
Red Kangaroo: History of commercial species in South Australia
The Nature Knowledge Channel holds the data for the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in South Australia back to the early 1970s.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Queensland to 6 August
This story gives an analysis of the commercially exploited Kangaroo species for 2024 based on data entered to 6 August 2024.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria, half year results
This analysis reports the actual number of Grey Kangaroos killed in Victoria for commercial gain in the first six months of 2024.
Media myths and Kangaroo gobbledegook
A new round of Kangaroo nonsense is being spruiked by journalists and Victorian Government politicians. We look at the reality.
Kangaroo population surveys and survey results in Victoria
Statewide surveys have been conducted in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The next survey will be in the latter months of 2024.
Commercial take Kangaroos in Australia: 2023 actual, 2024 forecast
In 2023 the actual number of Kangaroos killed for commercial gain was 1,362,185, our forecast for 2024 is 1,224,700.
Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria: 2023 actuals
This analysis gives the 2023 actuals against quota for Victoria (data published on 29 July 2024) and ATCW data including killing on public land.
Infernal serpent: The impact of Kangaroo abuse in South Australia and beyond
Professor Steve Garlick (NSW) makes the point that someone always has to clean up the mess resulting from government wildlife polices, the someone is a wildlife carer.
Last stand: Mopping-up South Australia’s remnant Kangaroo populations
The changes to the proposed new South Australia Commercial Kangaroo Management Plan are not only predictable, but they will also be devastating for remnant Kangaroo populations in the state.
One Friday night in June
Years of reporting on wildlife massacres in Australia does not make this grim task easier. This recent massacre of one hundred Kangaroos in Victoria was particularly vile.
Here is what happened: Kangaroo killing ACT nature reserves 2024
The plan: Seven nature reserves across the ACT will be closed from 9 June until 1 August 2024 for the ACT’s annual Kangaroo Management Program.
Towards zero: Kangaroos and the ACT
Professor Steve Garlick, Possumwood Wildlife, compares the Queanbeyan Nature Reserve (NSW) and the adjoining Jerrabomberra East Grasslands Nature Reserve (ACT).
Time after time: ACTs obsession with Kangaroo killing
“People don't do such things!” Henrik Ibsen. Well in Canberra, it appears they do.
5 red flags for wildlife in Victoria
When it comes to the environment and biodiversity, in Victoria we end up with a very long list of red flags, here are just 5. No high fives about it.
Trading bushmeat: Kangaroos and Australia
When it comes to what we see in Australia regarding the treatment of Kangaroos, we can only describe it as deeply degrading of a civil society and the kinder and clever world so many of us want to create.
2023: Authorities to control wildlife in Victoria, how many?
An alarming increase in native wildlife killing in 2023. During 2023, 2,482 ATCW permits were issued to lethally control 119,367 native Australian animals in Victoria (Australian mammals and birds).
What does it take? Kangaroo tales and U turns
This story provides brief insights into the confronting world that describes the relationship in Australia with Kangaroos. We take you back to the early part of the 1970s.
Impact of commercial exploitation on Kangaroos in Victoria
The commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria has nothing to do with mitigation of harm, but everything to do with commercial gain.
BAU Kangaroo: Nothing, if not predictable
So what happened to the Victorian Government’s 2023 consultation regarding the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in the state?
Koalas in Victoria: Just how bad can it get?
This analysis follows up our story Pandora’s Box: Koalas in Victoria, and the news is grim as well as predictable.
Koalas in Zoos Victoria care 2018-2023
This analysis summarises how many Koalas were rehabilitated and how many were euthanised by Zoos Victoria since 2018.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos, summary table and comparisons
This analysis updates the 2022 numbers, estimates the outcome for 2023 and provides comparisons for 2020 to 2024.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Western Australia
This analysis of the situation for Kangaroos in Western Australian in 2024 completes the analysis of all states and mainland territories in Australia for that year.
2024: Summary - Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos Australia
This analysis summarises the population and quota data for 2024 for the states which commercially exploit Kangaroos.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in South Australia
“All Kangaroo species in South Australia are protected under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972”. Well, perhaps not.
Paradise lost?
Talking to Shai Ager from The Agile Project during the flooding, Shai describes how this catastrophe for wildlife in Far North Queensland unfolded.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria
We can be certain of one thing, commercial shooters will not reach the quotas in 2024, because the population estimates, yet again, appear hyper-inflated. This leads to quotas that are far too high.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in New South Wales
The population estimate of the four commercial species in 2023, from which the 2024 quota is derived, was 9,634,900 (down from 11,882,215 in the previous year).
Christmas message 2023
To all our Nature Knowledge Channel’s friends around the world we wish you the very best for 2024. You can be certain of one thing, we will be out there fighting to protect and save the world’s precious biodiversity.
Pandora’s Box: Koalas in Victoria
The Nature Knowledge Channel was blocked from attending the opening media event of the Koala Hospital in August 2022.
Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria: What the numbers tell us
Public lands are next in the endless exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria.
Victorian Kangaroo ‘Harvest’ Management Plan 2024-2028
Under no circumstances should the commercial exploitation of Kangaroos be allowed to occur on public lands in Victoria.
Review of the Victorian Kangaroo Harvest Management Plan
Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos: Codes of Practice have failed to modify the industry-wide use of inhumane practices at all or resulted in any improvement of animal welfare outcomes.
Unpleasant histories: Mass killing of Kangaroos in Victoria’s National Parks
This story attempts to piece together the history of mass killing of native Australian species in State and National Parks in Victoria. Over 100,000 Kangaroos have been targeted since 1984, when the killing began.
2024: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Queensland
Three species, the Red Kangaroo, the Eastern Grey Kangaroo and the Wallaroo are exploited for commercial gain across six shooting zones in Queensland. They plan to turn 2.5 million Kangaroos into pet food in 2024. No chance of that.
How many Tasmania? Protection permits to kill Australian wildlife
10,420,536 protected native animals were killed in Tasmania in a nine year period from mid 2013 using ‘protection’ permits issued by and promoted by the Tasmanian Government, RTI documents reveal.
Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria 2023, the year so far
Quarter 2 and 3 Summary 2023 Reports for Victoria’s ‘Kangaroo Harvesting Program’ were finally published, after much chasing, in late October 2023. This is what they reveal.
A walk in a wild garden
The night had been a noisy one, after the heavy monsoon rain of the afternoon there had been enough sunshine left in the day to take some of the moisture from the wet ground.
Wallaby wonders
Sitting silently in the bush alongside a Wallaby is always a joy, these are wonderful and gentle animals.
Wildlife, money and numbers
With the increasing likelihood of another bad fire season in 2023 we look back at what went on just three years ago.
Reflections
This story provides a series of short reflections about the treatment of wildlife in the State of Victoria.
Kangaroos and the US: September 2023 update
Washington D.C. Leading a bipartisan group of three Republicans and three Democrats as sponsors introduced the Kangaroo Protection Act, H.R. 4995 to ban the sale of kangaroo body parts in the United States.
Nature and war
Modest in scale, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art manages to curate both fine and deeply intellectual exhibitions. This time we are here to see an exhibition, which touches at the very heart of our concerns for the natural world.
Victoria: Review of the Kangaroo ‘harvest management plan’
The Victorian Government has invited the public to comment, via a survey, on its latest Kangaroo 'harvest management plan'.
The reluctant ark
Disturb or destroy that habitat and you will exterminate the species as surely as if you had shot it.
Never meeting commercial Kangaroo harvest quotas: What it means?
Commercial Kangaroo harvest quotas are never met.
New South Wales: Licences to harm protected Australian species
Licences to harm are non-commercial permits and with few exceptions are issued to kill protected Australian species in NSW.
Desert song
Kneeling in the soft and warmed evening sand. Letting these fine and warm grains trickle through fingers, knowing this is a beautiful and ancient place.
2023 Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Western Australia
This analysis of the situation for Kangaroos in Western Australian in 2023 completes the analysis of all states and mainland territories in Australia for that year.
How many: The commercial exploitation of Kangaroos?
Amid silly claims and population estimates, what are the facts, how many Kangaroos are being processed for commercial gain?
When the shooters come to town
Commercial Kangaroo shooters operate during the night and are not required to advise residents when and where they are working.
Authorities to control wildlife in Victoria: How many are issued?
In 2021 in Victoria, just 2.6 per cent of the permits issued to ‘control’ Australian wildlife were for non-lethal control.
As night is day
Mr. Gore, who went out this day with his gun, had the good fortune to kill one of the animals which had been so much the subject of our speculation.
The visitor from Bahrain
Matina Tsaloumas’ poetry is inspired by the beauty and the destruction of the natural world, history, social upheaval, everyday life, and great poets through the ages.
State of confusion: Protection of wildlife in Victoria
The Australian public believe that their wildlife is protected, if they believe that they will be wrong.
Crossing country
It has not rained for a long time, the last big rains about a year ago, sending water down the now dry riverbeds.
Kangaroos and the United States
This analysis discusses the events in the United States regarding concerns about Kangaroo welfare issues and resulting actions.
2023 Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Victoria
Shockingly, and after the floods and years of mass killing of Kangaroos, the Victorian Government claims a 24 per cent increase in Kangaroo populations.
2023 Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in New South Wales
In outback New South Wales, where there is an estimated population of just under 3 million Kangaroos, we counted just one living Kangaroo.
2023 Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in South Australia
The latest claims of population increases represent a step change in the scale and scope of the killing as they relate to the improbable claims being made.
The lonely road
What follows are our reflections on the state of wildlife, particularly Kangaroos, during extensive journeys by road across the Australian continent.
Ways and means: Killing Australian wildlife in Victoria
In the State of Victoria, here are some of the ways in which Australia’s native wildlife is killed, mostly with enthusiastic government support.
Kangaroos in the ACT (Canberra)
The ACT continues to be a leader in developing policies that push the limits of what is being done to Kangaroos, what is ‘lawful’ and what levels of cruelty are acceptable
Yamagata days: A night with the monsters
In this story we travel to snow country and meet the snow monsters.
The wood from the trees
Victoria and South Australia, so what happened to wildlife during the fires and the original COVID pandemic?
Jewels of the desert
It is remarkable that in the heat and dry of the Australian interior that there is such an array of plant life. The desert in spring sparkles with flowers and seedpods.
The vanishing
We go back to 2017, we begin with an island, far from the Australian mainland and remote in the Indian Ocean.
Paradoxical Frog
Nature is so incredibly precious, we disrupt the natural world at our own very great peril. Here is some history.
2023 Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in Queensland
If you want to be really angry about what is happening to wildlife populations around the world, Queensland is a very good place to start.
The Magnificent Kangaroo
Britain began its relationship with the Kangaroo in a painting by S T Edwards, published as an engraving in Museum Leverianum in 1796.
Kangaroos and Wallabies in the Northern Territory
We spend a lot of time in the Northern Territory and see very few Kangaroos.
Snapshot: Commercial exploitation of Kangaroos in South Australia
The species of Kangaroo available for commercial exploitation will include three new species.
The Kangaroo, the Mayor and the car race
This is the model for all communities and reduces risk and conflict with wildlife.
Nature’s time
As each year goes by there are fewer and fewer animals in the wild. Reflections from 2019.
The nature of horta or Greek greens
Peter Hylands says this is a subject that touches on my own childhood in the European Alps.
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The Australian Wildlife Protection Council reports on the circumstances facing Australian species
The Australian Wildlife Protection Council reports on the circumstances facing Australian species
Life in the air
“In western society we have lost the capacity of connection to the Earth as described in the landscapes destroyed, in the land lost, in species lost, in knowledge lost, in care lost, in purpose lost and in future lost.”
Sky
Pup time
We join the Friends of Bats and Bushcare Inc and visit a Grey-headed Flying Fox camp at Yarra Bend in Melbourne.
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Birds matter, Ramsar matters
Ramsar sites in Victoria can be extremely dangerous places to visit given the largely unsupervised shooting activity occurring there.
Australasian Darter
We have photographed Australasian Darters before but this chance meeting in Western Victoria was a reminder of just how remarkable this bird is.
Driven to distraction: Bird life and death in Victoria
The aftermath of the 2024 duck shooting season in Victoria, broken birds and broken hearts. This is what they said.
Original sin
Human rights concerns have been front and centre during our research regarding wildlife abuse and violence in Australia. The latest duck shooting debacle in Victoria is an exemplar of that.
Why Victoria’s decision not to ban duck shooting is far worse than you might think
What we all knew, on Monday 29 January 2024 the Victorian Government announced it would not ban duck shooting in the state.
Duck shooting in South Australia and Victoria, January 2024 update
The South Australian Government’s Duck shooting inquiry fails to deliver any positive change and Victoria, after its inquiry, strides determinedly down the same path.
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo and family
A pandemonium of parrots, they surround us with their cries, so recognisable in the Australian bush. What a beautiful bird this is.
Number of ducks killed in Australia 2023
Based on a mixture of actuals and estimates based on previous years, the number of ducks likely killed in Australia's duck shooting states in 2023 was 424,000. Including the Northern Territory the number rises to 657,170.
New South Wales and duck shooting: 2023 update
In our story 'By another name' we described the culture of shooting ducks on rice fields in New South Wales. Here is an update.
Duck shooting in South Australia: November 2023 update
Duck shooting can also endanger or kill other animals who were never intended as ‘targets’. Birds may be incorrectly identified by shooters, or young birds may be abandoned by their parents who flee the sound of gunfire in fear.
Recreational Duck shooting in Tasmania
The Tasmanian State Government said it had no plans to ban recreational duck hunting.
Recreational shooting of Australian birdlife in Victoria: 2023 how many died?
Victoria’s Game Management Authority has provided its grim statistics for ‘recreational’ duck and quail shooting for 2023.
2023: Inquiry into Victoria's recreational native bird hunting arrangements
A Victorian Government parliamentary inquiry has concluded recreational native bird hunting in Victoria should end as of 2024.
Duck shooting in South Australia: 2018-19 historical note
In 2018 we made extensive trips through South Australia and up into the Northern Territory.
Holding on: Duck shooting in Victoria 2023
The Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey shows that waterbird populations, breeding and habitat availability are all showing long-term declines over the last four decades.
Ugly duckling
History matters so here for the record: 2017 Duck shooting season in Victoria, a very bad year for ducks and a year from which they have never recovered.
Birdlife and death and people suffer too
In this story we consider the harm caused to people because of the mass slaughter of wildlife.
By another name: Duck shooting in NSW
In New South Wales waterbirds are shot in large numbers on private land.
Last gasp: Birdlife and death in Australia
We reflect on the duck shooting season of 2020, following the most catastrophic bush fires ever experienced.
Spectacled Flying-fox
Our first encounter with Flying Foxes in the Pacific, and after a long bike ride across the island, was on Tongatapu, the main island in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
While in Kumarakom we wanted to visit the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, the land of the Night Herons.
Grey-headed Flying-fox
On Christmas Day 2019 we visited a ‘camp’ of Grey-headed Flying-foxes in Melbourne.
Pacific Black Duck
We tell this story through the images of one bird, the Pacific Black Duck. A grumpy bird it might be, but that does not justify its treatment.
Rose-breasted Cockatoo and others
The Rose-breasted Cockatoo or Galah is a very clever bird indeed. Given the right circumstances it has a lifespan of 40 to 70 years and pairs for life.
Bush Stone-curlew
What is happening to Bush Stone-curlews in North Queensland is deeply distressing to observe.
Kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburras are the iconic bird species of the Australian bush because of their distinctive call.
White-winged Chough
The White-winged Chough is a bird that has been equipped with the skill of near silent flight, flapping and gliding just above forest floor.
Australian Pelican
On an image gathering trip in the South East of Australia we find ourselves sitting among a pod of Pelicans at the mouth of the Snowy River.
Tawny Frogmouth
Here are our family of city dwellers, this year, as for each and every year, there are two young birds.
Birds tumble from the sky
Dead and dying birds tumble from the sky, gun violence, brave rescuers among the carnage.
Birds matter, Ramsar matters
Ramsar sites in Victoria can be extremely dangerous places to visit given the largely unsupervised shooting activity occurring there.
Australasian Darter
We have photographed Australasian Darters before but this chance meeting in Western Victoria was a reminder of just how remarkable this bird is.
Driven to distraction: Bird life and death in Victoria
The aftermath of the 2024 duck shooting season in Victoria, broken birds and broken hearts. This is what they said.
Original sin
Human rights concerns have been front and centre during our research regarding wildlife abuse and violence in Australia. The latest duck shooting debacle in Victoria is an exemplar of that.
Why Victoria’s decision not to ban duck shooting is far worse than you might think
What we all knew, on Monday 29 January 2024 the Victorian Government announced it would not ban duck shooting in the state.
Duck shooting in South Australia and Victoria, January 2024 update
The South Australian Government’s Duck shooting inquiry fails to deliver any positive change and Victoria, after its inquiry, strides determinedly down the same path.
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo and family
A pandemonium of parrots, they surround us with their cries, so recognisable in the Australian bush. What a beautiful bird this is.
Number of ducks killed in Australia 2023
Based on a mixture of actuals and estimates based on previous years, the number of ducks likely killed in Australia's duck shooting states in 2023 was 424,000. Including the Northern Territory the number rises to 657,170.
New South Wales and duck shooting: 2023 update
In our story 'By another name' we described the culture of shooting ducks on rice fields in New South Wales. Here is an update.
Duck shooting in South Australia: November 2023 update
Duck shooting can also endanger or kill other animals who were never intended as ‘targets’. Birds may be incorrectly identified by shooters, or young birds may be abandoned by their parents who flee the sound of gunfire in fear.
Recreational Duck shooting in Tasmania
The Tasmanian State Government said it had no plans to ban recreational duck hunting.
Recreational shooting of Australian birdlife in Victoria: 2023 how many died?
Victoria’s Game Management Authority has provided its grim statistics for ‘recreational’ duck and quail shooting for 2023.
2023: Inquiry into Victoria's recreational native bird hunting arrangements
A Victorian Government parliamentary inquiry has concluded recreational native bird hunting in Victoria should end as of 2024.
Duck shooting in South Australia: 2018-19 historical note
In 2018 we made extensive trips through South Australia and up into the Northern Territory.
Holding on: Duck shooting in Victoria 2023
The Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey shows that waterbird populations, breeding and habitat availability are all showing long-term declines over the last four decades.
Ugly duckling
History matters so here for the record: 2017 Duck shooting season in Victoria, a very bad year for ducks and a year from which they have never recovered.
Birdlife and death and people suffer too
In this story we consider the harm caused to people because of the mass slaughter of wildlife.
By another name: Duck shooting in NSW
In New South Wales waterbirds are shot in large numbers on private land.
Last gasp: Birdlife and death in Australia
We reflect on the duck shooting season of 2020, following the most catastrophic bush fires ever experienced.
Spectacled Flying-fox
Our first encounter with Flying Foxes in the Pacific, and after a long bike ride across the island, was on Tongatapu, the main island in the Kingdom of Tonga.
Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary
While in Kumarakom we wanted to visit the Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary, the land of the Night Herons.
Grey-headed Flying-fox
On Christmas Day 2019 we visited a ‘camp’ of Grey-headed Flying-foxes in Melbourne.
Pacific Black Duck
We tell this story through the images of one bird, the Pacific Black Duck. A grumpy bird it might be, but that does not justify its treatment.
Rose-breasted Cockatoo and others
The Rose-breasted Cockatoo or Galah is a very clever bird indeed. Given the right circumstances it has a lifespan of 40 to 70 years and pairs for life.
Bush Stone-curlew
What is happening to Bush Stone-curlews in North Queensland is deeply distressing to observe.
Kookaburra
Laughing Kookaburras are the iconic bird species of the Australian bush because of their distinctive call.
White-winged Chough
The White-winged Chough is a bird that has been equipped with the skill of near silent flight, flapping and gliding just above forest floor.
Australian Pelican
On an image gathering trip in the South East of Australia we find ourselves sitting among a pod of Pelicans at the mouth of the Snowy River.
Tawny Frogmouth
Here are our family of city dwellers, this year, as for each and every year, there are two young birds.
Birds tumble from the sky
Dead and dying birds tumble from the sky, gun violence, brave rescuers among the carnage.
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The Australian Wildlife Protection Council prepares submissions to governments across Australia as they relate to government inquiries that impact our wildlife. We are a voice for all Australian species
The Australian Wildlife Protection Council prepares submissions to governments across Australia as they relate to government inquiries that impact our wildlife. We are a voice for all Australian species
Life in oceans, rivers, lakes and seas
A great deal of the marine debris in Northern Australian waters originates from the fishing industry and much of this comes from South East Asia. Large numbers of ghost nets drift into the Gulf of Carpentaria during the Monsoon capturing the fish, reptiles, birds and mammals that live in the Gulf.”
Water
Finke River journey
It is November. On this journey we begin by travelling along Ellery Creek (from Wallace Rockhole) and join the Finke River at the confluence of the two. At this point both rivers are dry.
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A note on hunting on Ramsar sites around the world
The world currently has 2,522 Ramsar sites with an area of 257,317,367 ha. Hunting of various kinds still occurs on some.
Meeting obligations to protect Ramsar wetlands in Victoria?
Hunting and capture of Ramsar sites by shooters in Victoria is controversial, yet the situation continues to deteriorate.
Ramsar sites: The impact of Victoria’s new game hunting regulations
Changes to regulations for wildlife classified as game in Victoria will impact protected Australian duck and quail species on Ramsar sites in Victoria.
Deceived by flight: Misuse of Ramsar sites in Victoria
New lows are now occurring in Australia on Victoria’s Ramsar sites.
Terminal?
The world we don’t want will be the world we get. The Murujuga tells us all we need to know.
Signs of neglect
Visiting Ramsar Sites in Victoria can be a shocking experience, doing so a few weeks before the start of yet another duck shooting season adds to the distress.
Ramsar Sites in Victoria
Despite the claims of some Victorian politicians and their public servants that the slaughter of waterbirds on Ramsar sites is an economic benefit it is likely that the precise opposite is the case.
The rainbow in the desert
When it rains in the dry places in Central Australia, every drop is precious, it means more water in the waterholes, so important for the animals that live here.
John Wolseley: Art and Nature
In a creek in the Northern Territory, each small creature’s life world is interwoven to produce an ecosystem vibrating with life.
Children’s Ramsar
Japan, which joined the Ramsar Convention in October 1980, has 53 Ramsar sites, many in the Japanese wild of Hokkaido.
In a fading light, a vanishing
We take some time to track down some of the animals that still survive. Gentle, beautiful and precious, each and every one.
Eastern Water Dragon
Water Dragons are strong swimmers and can be seen catching the sun near waterways, stretched out on overhanging branches or nearby rocks.
Turtle time
Turtles are ancient indeed, today’s species, almost unchanged since the appearance of their ancestors 245 million years ago.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish have been swimming in the world’s oceans and seas for more than half a billion years.
How the Bäru saved the sea
At the camp Waka also discovered the severed head of a Saltwater Crocodile (Bäru) in a hessian bag.
Victoria's Ramsar Sites
Another natural catastrophe is unfolding on Australia’s internationally protected Ramsar Wetlands.
A note on hunting on Ramsar sites around the world
The world currently has 2,522 Ramsar sites with an area of 257,317,367 ha. Hunting of various kinds still occurs on some.
Meeting obligations to protect Ramsar wetlands in Victoria?
Hunting and capture of Ramsar sites by shooters in Victoria is controversial, yet the situation continues to deteriorate.
Ramsar sites: The impact of Victoria’s new game hunting regulations
Changes to regulations for wildlife classified as game in Victoria will impact protected Australian duck and quail species on Ramsar sites in Victoria.
Deceived by flight: Misuse of Ramsar sites in Victoria
New lows are now occurring in Australia on Victoria’s Ramsar sites.
Terminal?
The world we don’t want will be the world we get. The Murujuga tells us all we need to know.
Signs of neglect
Visiting Ramsar Sites in Victoria can be a shocking experience, doing so a few weeks before the start of yet another duck shooting season adds to the distress.
Ramsar Sites in Victoria
Despite the claims of some Victorian politicians and their public servants that the slaughter of waterbirds on Ramsar sites is an economic benefit it is likely that the precise opposite is the case.
The rainbow in the desert
When it rains in the dry places in Central Australia, every drop is precious, it means more water in the waterholes, so important for the animals that live here.
John Wolseley: Art and Nature
In a creek in the Northern Territory, each small creature’s life world is interwoven to produce an ecosystem vibrating with life.
Children’s Ramsar
Japan, which joined the Ramsar Convention in October 1980, has 53 Ramsar sites, many in the Japanese wild of Hokkaido.
In a fading light, a vanishing
We take some time to track down some of the animals that still survive. Gentle, beautiful and precious, each and every one.
Eastern Water Dragon
Water Dragons are strong swimmers and can be seen catching the sun near waterways, stretched out on overhanging branches or nearby rocks.
Turtle time
Turtles are ancient indeed, today’s species, almost unchanged since the appearance of their ancestors 245 million years ago.
Jellyfish
Jellyfish have been swimming in the world’s oceans and seas for more than half a billion years.
How the Bäru saved the sea
At the camp Waka also discovered the severed head of a Saltwater Crocodile (Bäru) in a hessian bag.
Victoria's Ramsar Sites
Another natural catastrophe is unfolding on Australia’s internationally protected Ramsar Wetlands.
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