Australia's swift parrot is unmistakable.
Decked out in electric green feathers and an almost fiery ring of red and yellow around its beak, it is truly something to behold. The parrot's distinctive bird call is unmistakable as well -- an impressively loud one for such a small bird.
The "sharp and quick and fast" call, as it was described by one expert, was recently observed in an area of the Tasmanian forest.
The swift parrot spends summers nesting and raising their babies in Tasmania. When they found the birds, scientists submitted evidence to the government to ensure that particular area of forest was protected -- after all,
only about 750 swift parrots are still alive today. But by the time an ecologist was sent out to survey the area,
the swift parrots' habitat had already been logged, razed to the ground. Who knows how many swift parrots, their nests, their eggs or their chicks were lost in this brutal display of government failure and corporate greed.Sign the petition and demand that the federal Australian government protect endangered species!Both the Tasmanian government, which manages forestry at the state level, and the logging company that brutalized the swift parrots habitat are refusing to take true responsibility.
The government provided a lackluster statement claiming that they do everything in their power to protect swift parrot habitats --
which clearly isn't true. Sustainable Timber Tasmania (an ironic name considering the circumstances) did something similar, claiming that it was committed to "protecting environmental values through careful planning and oversight."
How much "planning and oversight" went into bringing the trees containing these parrots and their nests crashing to the ground?Because there are fewer than a thousand swift parrots remaining in the world,
this cruel, irresponsible act could cost us the entire species! Australia is home to so much of the Earth's biodiversity -- how could it be so
careless? Here's what must happen: the Australian government must take back forestry management at the federal level. This logging should have never been approved, and the federal government must make things right by making sure no logging like this can happen again!
Sign the petition to demand better from the Australian government, and to fight for the lives of the remaining swift parrots!
Photo courtesy of the Victoria State Government Department Energy, Environment, and Climate Action website
