Hamilton Island faces social media backlash over animal culling
Hamilton Islandâs social media pages have been inundated with angry messages and pleas from people after learning of mass animal culls at the resort destination.
The ABC has revealed more than 1000 wallabies, possums and birds, including a kookaburra, were shot on the resort island between November 2014 and May this year.
The resort islandâs managers have Queensland government permission to carry out the culls âto prevent damage or loss of property and to protect the health and wellbeing of staff, guests and other visitorsâ.
The environment department allows management to cull an unlimited amount of agile wallabies, 100 sulphur-crested cockatoos, 10 kookaburras and up to 5000 possums every three years, despite no population data being available.
However, the actions have not gone unnoticed by social media users who have inundated Hamilton Islandâs Twitter and Facebook accounts with their concerns.
Among the posts are vows to boycott the resort island, pleas for management to change their policy and criticism of the culling program.
âHamilton Island was on my to do list, but not anymore,â Jo Connellan said.
âWhat an absolute disgrace you are, â Oliver Barton said.
âI will NEVER go to your island again.â
âI was planning my return next year but my conscience just wonât let me til you can prove this will stop!â wrote Shell Lancaster.
âWhy so silent? How about a reply to the many posts from concerned Aussies ????â Donna Everitt Fisher added.
âAt a pinch I could understand the reasoning behind the cockatoo cull, although I would still condone it, but as for anything else, there is absolutely no valid reason,â Juls Williams said.
Some tweets were addressed directly to Queenslandâs Environment Minister Steven Miles, who is yet to comment on the issue.
@StevenJMiles Is it true that slaughter of native birds and animals on hamiltonisland was done on gov permit? Plse deny #hamiltonisland
â Chris Egginton (@ChrisEgginton) September 7, 2016
Despite the social media backlash, the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection have refused to change their position.
In a statement, it said it was âsatisfied that the operators on Hamilton Island are managing wildlife in accordance with their damage mitigation permitsâ.
They culled (killed) a kookaburra!! Why?? https://t.co/kMuVLjmn0T
â Catherine jensen (@csjensen68) September 5, 2016
The department said it was not planning a population survey on the resort island either, noting the wildlife in question were classified as âleast concernâ.
According to the department, the islandâs current damage mitigation permits will expire next year and the conditions will be reviewed if the resort owner applies for new permits.
The RSPCA has also raised concerns about the number of animals being culled.
âABC
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