The Queensland government recently announced a relaxation in restrictions for poison baiting to allow farmers to “tackle the problem” of dingoes. In Victoria, similar measures have already been taken. Will protection of the dingo come too late? Fifty-nine days after legislation protecting the thylacine, or Tasmanian tiger, was passed - the species went extinct. The 1936 story of the thylacine may be repeating that history today for the many species that we find inconvenient. The dingo, sharks, wolves, to give examples. The last thylacine died a lonely death in Beaumaris Zoo, Hobart but the warning bell of demise pealed much sooner. It is time to rethink our approach in how we manage wild populations. Lethal methods of control have lethal consequences – coexistence is not futile, but essential.
The thylacine was hunted due to the species alleged damage to the Tasmanian sheep industry. However, the thylacine’s actual impact on the industry was likely small. The species was made a scape-goat for poor management and the harshness of the Tasmanian environment, as early Europeans struggled implementing foreign farming practises to the new world. Today the dingo’s story mirrors the thylacine; a species blamed for the woes of the sheep industry. This industry is tough to survive in, with droughts, international competition and volatile markets for wool and meat – but the only place where vengeance can be exacted is on the dingo. As a result the dingo has experienced a severe range contraction since European settlement and there is mounting pressure to remove the dingo from the wild, which has called Australia home for over 4000 years.
“The tiger [thylacine], or dingo, received a very bad character in the Assembly yesterday; in fact, t...
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...rvation of genetically ambiguous species.
Traditionally, barrier fences and lethal control are used as methods to reduce livestock losses from dingos, however the costs of removing the dingo as our free pest species manager and the impact of fences as barriers to other wildlife need to be taken into account when assessing the true cost of maintaining these approaches. Alternatives to lethal control exist. Guardian dogs can protect stock from dog attack and have a return on investment between 1 3 years. Thus new cost-effective strategies are available to allow both the dingo and grazing to coexist.
It is clear that for over 4000 years dingoes have played a functional role in the Australian landscape and can provide benefits for farmers and conservation. It is time to learn how to live with the dingo. If not the dingo's story will play out with a thyalcine ending.
...and the administration of GnRH. Although at the present point time the administration of these treatments, is not economically sustainable due to added time and cost factors it has been seen through long term studies that the use of these vaccines in the regulation of the reproductive cycles, of mares and stallions can provide a more sustainable and ethical method of control that reduces overall population of brumbies and herd sizes.
Bourke, E and Edwards, B. 1994. Aboriginal Australia. St Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press.
Major settlements occurred after the nineteenth century. The British had quickly out-numbered the Aboriginal community, leaving them powerless to the changes or the invasion. The belief systems of the Europeans overpowered the aboriginal’s way of life, pressuring them to conform to the...
Within the Hornsby Shire there are more than 900 landmarks and indicators of the occurrence of an Aboriginal settlement as a result from the local tribe, the Guringai people. A major place of significance is through the up keeping and findings within the ‘Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.’ “Sir Henry Copeland (Australian Politician) named this location after the Aboriginal tribe whilst chase is an English word meaning an enclose land where animals were kept for hunting” (Hornsby Shire Council, n.d.) Throughout the landmark Aboriginal paintings, carvings, engravings, middens...
The current situation today, is that horses and donkeys have exceeded the amount to keep an ecological balance; from 26,600 wildlife to 38,300 wildlife. The horse program enacted by the bill passed in 1971, costs the government approximately $49 million a year. It takes the majority of the budget to manage the already captured horses; taking into account the life of the horses, it has been concluded that the total cost would be closer to $1 billion (Dean Bolstad, Roundup of Wild Horses…). A Federal law, allows the Bureau of Land Management to kill “excess horses to maintain what it calls ‘a thriving natural ecological balance’” (Ginger Kathrens). However, due to retaliation of animal right groups, the BLM has not taken any measures to eliminate
An increasing number of pit bull attacks have occurred over past decade. People who are attacked by pit bulls always suffer serious injuries because of the pit bulls’ sharp teeth and strong muscles. In October 19, 2009, Dr Hugh Wirth who is the RSPCA’s Victorian president renewed calls for American pit bull terriers to be bred out of Australia. The current laws require owners of pit bulls to register their pit bull. While some people are satisfied with the laws because they think that they are safe, others disagree. From my own perspective, the laws should be improved. The government should ban these fierce dogs and wipe them out instead of just registering them. In my opinion, there are three reasons why I am in favour of Dr Wirth’s proposal.
Years ago, species such as the Pyrenean Ibex, Passenger Pigeon, and the Wooly Mammoth used to roam the very same earth that we humans walk today. These species, along with many others have gone extinct over the course of time and now only fossils remain. However, Scientists are using biotechnology in an attempt to bring these species back from the dead. This process is known as de-extinction. De-Extinction, also known as resurrection biology, is the scientific process of resurrecting species that have died out, or gone extinct (Britannica). Scientists are using three different techniques in their attempt to resurrect these species which includes breeding back, genetic engineering, cloning.
The National Wildlife Federation lists an endangered animals as a genus that may be eradicated by leaving an insufficient quantity to reproduce or obliterating the species in it entirety ("Endangered animals act," para 1). In the United States alone there are 70 mammals that are recorded as endangered; however the foreign number exceeds 250 (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 2014). The extinction process could be correlated to a natural route; however extinction may also transpire due to environmental differences. Climate variations producing even slight changes in characteristics may have an extreme consequence on an endangered species. Loss of habitation also impacts species causing them to becoming imperiled. On occasion ailments are distributed from domestic animal; due to the loss of habitation wild animals to come in contact with infected animals. For example Siberian tigers have development distemper from domestic dogs; and this has triggered the tigers to lose their fear of humans. This proves to be hazardous when the tigers approach villages and roads and are killed; furthermore the disease may cost the tigers their lives. (Dell’Amore, 2013). Many of the vanishing animals are poached for varies elements that may be utilized in traditional treatment. The African rhino is on species that is being significantly exploited for their horns; in Vietnam and China the horn is thought to treat everything from hangovers to cancer (O’Neill, 2013). In addition, the introduction of an exotic species afflicts endangered animals, and the overexploitation of animals initiates noteworthy reductions in populations. If an animal is not able to adapt to changing variations it could be disastrous to a species.
...in their hunting lands in the condition their prey species preferred, they are also thought to be possibly, at least partially, responsible for the spread of dry eucalypt forests after their arrival, because this type of vegetation is fire-resistant.” The use of this type of farming not only helped the Aborigine survive for tens of thousands of years but, it was also a key method in changing the Australian landscape and agricultural practices of the entire world. While the Aborigines can be praised for their sustainable practices and deep spirituality, this is not always the treatment they receive. Over the past century, the aborigines have been met with much criticism and racism from the developing and modern world.
Some people may argue that zoos protect animals and species under this polluted world, however, do animals in zoos really need our “help”? Yes, but surely not that many. According to Captive Animals Protection Society (CAPS), 79% of animals in United Kingdom zoos and over 70% of elephants in European zoos are wild-caught. It seems that zoos need them rather than they need zoos.
"How Zoos Are Saving Our Animals." – Features – ABC Environment (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
An African Proverb once said, “Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.” The same goes for several other wild species around the world being hunted on enclosed ranches. Unless more people are informed about hunting on enclosed ranches it may easily be misinterpreted. Some may think the concept of a wild animal ranch is just a piece of private land with large animals that graze on it, when in fact that is wrong. This practice of hunting, otherwise known as a “canned hunt”, is one in which the animal is pin raised and then hunted on an enclosed ranch. “[T] he odds have been artificially manipulated against the animal so heavily that the notion of fair chase is subverted.” (“Canned and Internet”). If people understood the concept of a “canned hunt” there would be more laws preventing it.
Biodiversity loss can lead to extinction, and hurt human life. It is our responsibility to take care of the environment. We bring in machines that harm the environment and destroy animal life. We need to limit ourselves on how much land and resources we consume. There are major issues that are causing species to become extinct and hurt our way of life and other animals do to the change in food chain.
As humans our population is increasing at a very rapid pace. Human interference with the natural wildlife is skyrocketing the rate of extinction for the animals that we coexist with. As more and more humans are born the more territory is required in order to live a comfortable life, but it seems that we are not aware of how our expansions throughout the world is affecting the lives of the native species. We jeopardize the lives of these animals when we recklessly flatten the surrounding land and drive the living animals out of their natural habitats. When we feel the need to acquire more territory in order to create a suitable place to live on, we destroy the already occupied land of the native species thus driving the rate of extinction to increase. The occupation of the animals’ native soil forces the animals to leave the area in hopes of adapting to another piece of land. For some this adaptation is simply impossible and the species begin to die off. In an article on Treehugger.com the author states, “Thanks to human development and expansion, species are now going extinct exponentially faster than ever before- they’re dying out at the frightening speed of one thousand times their natural rate (Merchant 1). As we are busting around making these “developments”, we pollute the natural landscape with petroleum products, pesticides, and other chemicals. When this happens we endanger the living species and speed up the process of extinction because of our interference with the local wildlife.
This provides a legal safety net to stop and slow down the loss of plant and animal species. They hold federal agencies and others accountable for complying with laws protecting rare/endangered animals using persuasion and cooperation. They recommend increased funding for private landowners and conservation programs that could benefit animals. They protect and restore habitats that were lost. NWF also reduces threats to wildlife that can lead to endangerment including loss of habitat and pollution. India is now halting tiger tourism to prevent extinction of the animals. About 1,411 of these animals live in the wild, and they are in danger of being “loved to death.” Experts fear these big cats will become extinct in only five years. Poaching is the main reason for many deaths, but tourism has also impacted the tigers. The tourist vehicles drive away the tigers prey and hotels have been built over passageways the tigers used to travel from one place to another. Alligators, Bald Eagles, Wolves, Grizzly Bears, and Whooping Cranes were all saved by the U.S Endangered Species Act (ESA). The WWF is addressing the major threats to Australia’s