The Boathouse, Shelly Beach: Manly cafe seeks help to fend of aggro biting brush turkeys
Aggro brush turkeys scavenging for food have bitten customers at a popular Sydney cafe, forcing desperate management to seek help from wildlife authorities.
NSW
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Aggressive brush turkeys are biting customers, stealing food and smashing crockery and glasses at a popular northern beaches’ seaside cafe.
The cheeky sharp-beaked native birds are invading the The Boathouse at Manly’s Shelly Beach and jumping on tables in the hunt for food and scraps.
Management at The Boathouse Group has called on authorities to help come up with a humane solution to prevent the large birds, which are a protected species, from hurting patrons and staff as well as destroying property.
The cafe has started an online survey, seeking feedback from its customers about what sort of turkey incidents they have witnessed so it can show Northern Beaches Council and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, the impact the bird invasion is having.
Some of the birds nest in Bower Street Reserve, behind The Boathouse, and around the Shelly Beach Headland.
Boathouse head of commercial and marketing, Ben Collis, said the survey had revealed that some customers were less inclined to visit the cafe because of the brush turkeys.
“It’s got to the point were a couple of people have been bitten in the venue as the birds go for food,” he said.
“On top of walking through the venue and jumping on tables they’ve started to become more aggressive.
“We’ve had an elderly person slightly injured and a brush turkey take a chip out of a baby’s hand.”
Mr Collis said that cafe staff have had to manage the birds since it opened in 2015.
“We respect that this is their home and habitat. For years the birds were simply part and parcel of the location and manageable for the team,” he said.
“But, in the last six to 12 months, it’s become much worse as numbers of brush turkeys have increased and their behaviour in the venue and with patrons is significantly impacting guests’ experiences.
“We have escalated the issue and spoken to Northern Beaches Council and they’ve referred us to National Parks and Wildlife. We’re now waiting on a response from them.
“Ultimately we hope that council and parks will help us to manage the problem so we’re able to continue operating our business and the local community can enjoy the venue and location in harmony with the brush turkey population.”
The NSW Department of Environment website states that the turkeys “can become very tame around picnic grounds and homes”.
Brush Turkeys are a native animal protected under the Biodiversity Conservation Act. Any action to cull or control protected native animals requires a “licence to harm” from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) which also administers the enforcement of breaches under this Act. .
The council is aware of the concerns raised by The Boathouse Group about the impact that the birds are having on its operations.
And the council encourages DCCEW to work with The Boathouse Group to strike the right balance in this situation and was happy to attend any meetings where it would be helpful.
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Originally published as The Boathouse, Shelly Beach: Manly cafe seeks help to fend of aggro biting brush turkeys
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