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Category: Environmental Impact / Environmental Management / State Parliament / Activism and Lobbying / Tourism / Animal Welfare

Wildlife culls permitted on Hamilton Island to protect tourists and properties

Monday, 5 Sep 2016 14:30:40 | Stephanie Smail

Hamilton Island (ABC TV - file image)

Hundreds of animals are being killed at Hamilton Island to protect property and human health on the resort destination in Queensland's Whitsundays.

The ABC has learned wallabies, possums and native birds are being culled on Hamilton, renowned as one of Australia's premier island tourism destinations.

The resort island's managers have Queensland Government permission to kill an unrestricted number of agile wallabies, which were introduced to Hamilton in the 1970s.

Between November 2014 and May 2016, 393 agile wallabies were shot dead.

External Link: Taylor Swift talks to a cockatoo on Hamilton Island.

Nearly 600 brushtail possums were eradicated in the same time period, but Queensland's Environment Department allows up to 5,000 to be killed over three years.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said the number of animals killed was a concern.

"We're certainly not in favour of culls of this magnitude continuing, there's no doubt about that," he said.

"I don't feel that's the overall answer at all."

It is unclear what percentage of each species is being culled on the island, raising questions about whether the process is sustainable.

An Environment Department spokeswoman said they did not have data on animal populations on Hamilton Island.

Three damage-mitigation permits are in place on the island "to prevent damage or loss of property and to protect the health and wellbeing of staff, guests and other visitors," she said.

One permit covers the airport for reducing interference with aircraft, but the department has not clarified which areas are covered by the other two permits.

Native birds included in culls

Experts are particularly worried about the island's native birds.

The sulphur-crested cockatoos are famously friendly, as seen in singer Taylor Swift's tweets during her visit to the island last year.

But 35 of the birds have been killed in the past 18 months, along with 36 pied currawongs and a kookaburra.

Rochelle Steven from Birdlife Australia said killing birds was a drastic move.

"We really need to know the populations of the species we're dealing with before we take these quite drastic measures," she said.

"I would definitely think it needs to be monitored and potentially revisited by the department."

Mr Beatty said there were too many unanswered questions and the RSPCA would approach the Environment Department on the issue.

"If they're just culling them because they're basically an inconvenience then we just can't support that," he said.

The ABC has contacted the management of Hamilton Island for comment.

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