ILLEGAL SHOOTING A MAJOR THREAT FOR BAUDIN’S BLACK COCKATOOS

With the apple and pear harvest in full swing, residents in the Donnybrook, Bridgetown and Manjimup areas of southwest WA are being asked to report any illegal shooting of endangered black cockatoos.

Baudin's black cockatoos are found in Southwest Australia and nowhere else in the world. With a total population estimated at less than 10,000, the species is listed on the IUCN Red List as Endangered, and is protected in WA.

“Unfortunately, Baudin’s black cockatoos love to eat the seeds of apples and pears from orchards, putting them at odds with frustrated growers,” said Tegan Douglas, BirdLife Australia’s Cockies in Crisis Project Coordinator.

“Orchardists often think that Baudin’s black cockatoos are common, because they see them all the time, but in truth only a fraction of their population remains. Long-term residents might remember flocks of several thousand cockatoos blackening the skies, but we just don’t see them in those numbers in the southwest anymore.”

Despite commonwealth government penalties of up to $250,000 for killing a Baudin’s black cockatoo, it is estimated that around 200 birds are shot each year. The most recent projections suggest that illegal shooting is now the main driver of the species’ decline.

“Most orchardists try to do the right thing and protecting crops from black cockatoos is a real challenge but illegally shooting an endangered species is not an acceptable way to run a business, especially when there are viable, legal alternatives,” said WWF-Australia spokesperson Rebecca Boyland.

“Using orchard netting to shield apple and pear crops is the gold standard in stopping birds, including black cockatoos, from damaging fruit. Netting has the added benefits of improving yields of pear and apple crops while reducing water use."

“Growers should also consider the impacts of shooting an endangered species on their business, with local and international markets increasingly concerned about environmental and animal welfare issues associated with food production.”

In a world first, WWF-Australia and Murdoch University have teamed up to track Baudin’s black cockatoos, using state-of-the-art telemetric technology developed in the Netherlands to shed light on the habits of this threatened species.

“We know exactly where they are and what they are doing from the tracking data, and our research team spends a lot of time in the field following the flocks and visually observing the birds,” said Associate Professor Kris Warren of Murdoch University’s School of Veterinary and Life Sciences.

WWF, Murdoch University and BirdLife Australia are urging anyone who encounters an injured cockatoo or has seen evidence of Baudin’s black cockatoos being shot to contact the Wildcare Helpline on (08) 9474 9055 or their nearest Parks and Wildlife office.

WWF-Australia Media Contact: Charlie Stevens, Senior Communications Officer, 0424 649 689, cstevens@wwf.org.au