Take Action to Save Australia's Most Threatened Species

According to a recent article, Australia is home to nearly one-tenth of the world's bird species, 45% of which are found no one else. There are birds of nearly every shape and size that roam and fly the great continent. That's why birdwatchers from around the world come to see this astounding avian biodiversity.

But the survival of Australia's 830 bird species cannot be taken for granted. In fact, some are so close to the edge that if authorities don't act fast, they will disappear from the earth forever. Right now, Australia's first and third most threatened birds - the King Island brown thornbill and King Island scrubtit - two birds that have been called "thoroughly unexciting to the untrained eye" lack the funding necessary to be saved from extinction. At the same time the orange-bellied parrot, the second on the list seems to be hogging all the attention.

Why? Simple, parrots have a fanbase, they are cute, smart and colourful while the other two might be considered drab. So while the orange-bellied parrot gets more than a hundred thousand dollars in funding to species rescue the others get pennies in comparison.

Part of the reason is the amount of money dedicated to saving threatened species is pathetically small. At only $5 million dollars for 2017, with such a limited amount of money, the "sexiest" species seem to get the big bucks, while the others go ignored. Case in point, the King Island natural resource management group didn't get any federal support this year.

This is unacceptable. Every species deserves the funding necessary to give them a fair shot. And Australia has proven that, when there's a will, they can make a huge difference in the survival of a once vanishing species. The government simply has to dedicate more funding because at the current amount isn't cutting it.

Last week, voting ended in the search to find Australia's 2017 "Bird of the Year". Tens of thousands of people took to the net to vote for their favorite bird. There is clearly a love for Australia's feathered fauna. And all of them deserve to be given a fighting chance. Please sign and tell Australian Minister for the Environment and Energy is the Hon. Josh Frydenberg MP to give the "bland" birds of King Island a helping hand. Sign the petition and demand that the federal government increases funding for threatened species.