Six little penguins killed by dogs on Bicheno’s foreshore

Six little penguins have been found dead on a Tasmanian beach, the victims of what is believed to be a ­vicious dog attack.

Six little penguins have been found dead on a beach at Bicheno, the victims of what is believed to be a ­vicious dog attack.

Members of the public reported the dead birds to BirdLife Tasmania and Bicheno Penguin Tours on Monday.

“Bicheno’s penguin population has suffered far too many dog attacks in recent years, due to uncontrolled dogs killing birds as they return to their burrows at night,” said Dr Eric Woehler, of BirdLife Tasmania.

Dr Woehler said the pressure needed to be put on dog owners: “We’ve had, over the last five or so years, a number of dog attacks on penguins in the Bicheno area and we’ve had upward of 50 or 60 birds killed in an attack, so the population has been hammered by dog attacks over a number of years.”

Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service has confirmed six dead penguins were found, with preliminary assessment suggesting ­injuries were consistent with a dog attack.

The summer period is particularly dangerous for penguins in Bicheno because of the increase in visitors over the holidays, Dr Woehler said.

Bicheno little Penguins killed by dogs. Picture: Supplied

“The penguins are a major drawcard for tourists to ­Bicheno, and every dog attack puts unnecessary and unacceptable pressure on the breeding penguins,” he said.

The best way to protect the penguins, Dr Woehler said, was for owners to ­ensure their dogs were properly restrained.

Bicheno Penguin Tours co-owner Nick Wardlaw said he also received a call about the dead penguins.

“It’s going to affect the young that are in the rookery waiting to be fed,” he said, adding: “It was more in the centre of town, Waubs Bay, I believe”.

Mr Wardlaw said there needed to be greater awareness from the tourists visiting the area.

“We have a lot of dogs ­observed on beaches during restricted times. We see a lot of dogs over on Diamond ­Island, which is a penguin sanctuary. The regular beach is a dog-free zone between 10am and 6pm over the summer, there are several beach accesses and there are no signs on them,” he said.

While Mr Wardlaw said the recent penguin deaths won’t directly affect his ­business this time, the future of the penguin population could be impacted.

Any members of the public finding dead penguins on the foreshore should contact NRE Tasmania at 0427 942 537.

Originally published as Six little penguins killed by dogs on Bicheno’s foreshore