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To Kill a Mutton Bird
What is the Short-tailed Shearwater?
More commonly known as mutton birds, shearwaters are migratory birds that nest in burrows. They are impressive flyers with a wing span of about one metre.
History
The name mutton bird was first used by the early settlers on Norfolk Island who harvested adult Petrels which are similar to Shearwaters. However, over-hunting caused the extinction of these birds, and the name was then applied to the Shearwater.
Over-hunting caused extinction…
There are approximately 167 known short-tailed Shearwater breeding colonies in Tasmania. These colonies are usually located on islands and headways. Breeding occurs annually between September and April, and birds reach reproductive maturity at five years of age.
Shearwaters generally mate for life, and lay one egg in late November. After an incubation period of about 50 days, chicks hatch and stay with their parents until April, after which time the parents leave for their annual migration; a route that runs north along the western side of the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic. The return journey south occurs along a central line over the ocean, a trip which has been known to take about six weeks, and covers about 15,000 kilometres each way.
Hunting
The Shearwater is one of the few Australian native birds that is commercially harvested or hunted. Chicks are taken for their feathers, flesh and oil.
There are two types of harvesting or hunting - recreational, license-regulated and commercial, run under license by local aboriginal communities.
Threats and Mortality
The Shearwater is extremely vulnerable to over-harvesting and habitat destruction. Many birds do not survive the long migration, and gill net fishing drowns up to 50,000 birds annually. Then there are the threats posed by global warming and Antarctic krill harvesting which places further pressure on the birds main food source. In late 2007, thousands of birds mysteriously died across south-west Australia. The impacts of this are yet to be felt.
The Current Situation
Each year in Tasmania, a large number of commercial and recreational licenses to harvest Shearwaters are issued. In 2008, licensed commercial facilities processed around 67,000 juvenile muttonbirds, while more than 54,000 were reported harvested under the recreational licensing system; thats more than 120,000 birds legally taken in one year.
Over 120,000 birds are slaughtered in just one season
It is an offence to take an adult bird, although there is little or no enforcement. It is common for an adult bird to remain in the burrow with the young, and as the hunter plunges blindly into the burrow, he cannot see what he is pulling out. Adult birds are usually killed and then discarded as rubbish. These birds don't reach reporoductive maturity until they are five years old and they produce only one egg a year, so the loss of fertile adults and their young is a threat to the global population and the breeding cycle.
Adults are killed and just discarded.
When a hunter finds a burrow, he reaches in to search for the chick. However, as the burrows are often longer than an arms length, and are usually built in soft, sandy loam, significant damage is often done to the burrow itself. There are even reports of people using chainsaws to cut their way in. As shearwaters can return to the same burrow each year, this type of widespread damage is detrimental to the survival of the breeding colony.
Destruction of burrows is illegal but continues to happen.
The cruelty of mutton birding has long been justified as an established tradition for many members of the Tasmanian community, often with strong participation from the older generations.
Many claim its a recreational pastime.
Those with little or no experience can obtain a license for a small fee and are then free to kill these native Australian birds. While bag limits are applied, poaching continues to run rife, making actual numbers difficult to confirm.
The Tasmanian State Government acknowledges that "methods used by some mutton birders to kill chicks cause unnecessary suffering...." yet no formal training is offered. The only information the Government provides is a brief paragraph on how to break a chicks neck which appears in literature given to license applicants. Sometimes even this isn't supplied.
Thousands of birds suffer every year.
Methods used by some muttonbirders to kill chicks cause unnecessary suffering.
This is the time we should be working towards keeping Shearwater numbers high.
We must guard against over-harvesting and prevent cruelty to animals.
RSPCA Tasmania’s Position
The RSPCA's primary focus is education and awareness. The often isloated nature of Shearwater colonies means many people are simply unaware of the Shearwater, its ecology and habitat, migration and pressures on its survival. They need to know inhumane harvesting methods cause birds unnecessary distress, regulations arent effectively policed and penalties are too lenient.
The RSPCA is calling for more stringent legislation including:
- Increased permit costs to reduce inexperienced, recreational hunting
- Greater levels of education and training
- Increased controls in obtaining a license
- ID checks
- Increase of permit age limit from 16 to 18
- Strict policing of bag limits
- Strict controls over hunting techniques and burrow preservation
- Designated off-limit areas to protect vulnerable colonies
- Increased penalties for poachers
Of the five States that are home to the short-tailed Shearwater, Tasmania is the only State that allows their hunting. Victoria banned an open season for Shearwater hunting 30 years ago, and went even further to give them protected status.
Why is Tasmania so far behind?
To obtain the full brochure including the personal petition, download here Shearwaters 2009.pdf