Drought could be behind mystery bird deaths

The longer a drought lasts the worse it can get for our plants and animals.

SOCIAL MEDIA IMAGE DISCUSS USE WITH YOUR EDITOR - Blackwater resident Zoe Stott has found two dead lorikeets next to her pool, two days in a row.

Data shows drought impact

THE bird deaths in Blackall (Mystery bird deaths across Blackwater, DM 30/11/2019) could have been due to drought impacts.

I checked BoM's SILO weather data for a few selected years between 1909 and 2019 and graphed the results for daily vapour pressure (VP) for the month of November. This is a measure of how much moisture is in the air, i.e. a measure of dryness.

The graph shows that November 2019 was by far the lowest when comparing daily VP for the selected years.

When conditions are so dry plants reduce or may even stop photosynthesis and growth, This can affect the whole food chain. Air temperatures can also reach a tipping point for fauna and flora. The longer a drought lasts the worse it can get for our plants and animals.

I am not sure if November 2019 has been the driest experienced in Blackall as I did not graph November for every year, but it would be among the driest if not.

I also noticed the same drop in daily VP in Eungella since 1898 to the present.

Patricia Julien, Greenmount

Integrity blindside

THE Morrison Government has been blindsided after failing to get its Integrity Bill through the Senate.

The bill was to broaden the grounds to deregister unions and disqualify their officials.

The government thought they had secured the votes of One Nation's, Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts which would have given them the numbers, but that didn't happen. Ms Hanson and Mr Roberts voted against the bill.

Ms Hanson said the recent prosecution of Westpac over alleged money laundering laws was a key factor in her voting against the bill.

She told the government to clean up the white-collar crime and go after banking officials.

She also had a blunt message for the unions, telling them to get their act together and stop corruption, and using bullying tactics.

Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie who also voted against the bill, said the government failed to negotiate with her as they thought One Nation's votes would secure them the numbers.

Spitefully, Attorney-General Christian Porter said that in the end, One Nation had decided to vote with the 'union thugs'.

He also stated the government would not give up and reintroduce the bill at an appropriate time.

Rob Richards, Walkerston

'Despicable' industry

LAST week 14,000 gentle and inoffensive sheep being exported to the Middle East died a ghastly and terrifying death when the ship on which they were being transported capsized. They weren't Australian sheep, they were European, but they could just as easily have been Australian.

Some would have drowned in a relatively short time while others, those above the waterline, would have died slowly and agonisingly as they were crushed and smothered by those on top of them. Or they may have slowly drowned as the water edged up to their nostrils.

Whichever way they died it would have been the stuff of nightmares. But, the sad reality is that even if this ship had not capsized, their deaths would have been the stuff of nightmares.

On arrival at their destination they may have been trussed and tied, shoved into stifling car boots or tied to roof racks.

Their throats may have been crudely sawn open by inexperienced individuals with blunt knifes and they would have been left to slowly choke to death on their own blood.

Whatever the case, it would have been a hideous death that these gentle animals certainly did not deserve. This incident highlights the dangers that exported animals face and demonstrates that even a safe passage to their destination cannot be guaranteed.

This despicable industry clearly needs to end and, hopefully, Australia will lead the way in doing so. No amount of profit can ever justify inflicting this torture on gentle and inoffensive animals.

Jenny Moxham, Monbulk, Victoria

Originally published as