Environmentalists call for program to cull Indian myna birds on Mornington Peninsula
THE “cane toads of the sky” are invading the Peninsula and a culling program is urgently needed, environmentalists warn.
South East
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THE “cane toads of the sky” are invading the Peninsula and a culling program is urgently needed, environmentalists warn.
Nepean Conservation Group committee member John Trewarne said huge numbers of Indian myna birds were wreaking havoc on native species and environmentally sensitive areas across the Peninsula.
The highly aggressive birds would not hesitate to “dismantle” the nests of native birds, he said.
“They’re like foxes and feral cats. They’ve been dubbed cane toads of the sky in Queensland,” he said.
Peninsula ecologist Malcolm Legg said the mynas were putting native birds under huge pressure and forcing them out.
“They are breeding up everywhere. They take over the breeding hollows (of native birds),” he said.
“A trapping program can be very effective if it’s done right.”
Mr Legg said the Mornington Peninsula Landcare Network had previously run a trapping program, but it had largely petered out.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said residents could kill the mynas themselves or hire a pest controller.
Government spokesman Lewis Hill said residents could legally trap and euthanase the mynas on their properties as long as it was not done cruelly and was in accordance with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act.
Mr Hill said mynas were widespread across the state.
“It is likely that with more people living on the Mornington Peninsula there would be more myna birds, who unlike native birds, do like to nest with man-made structures,” he said.
Senior Mornington Peninsula Shire Council officer Niall McDonagh said officials would look at steps to control the mynas.
“We have active programs to control pests. We are doing some work in that space and we are open to improvement,” he told a recent council meeting.
Indian myna birds were introduced to Australia in Melbourne in 1862 with the aim of controlling pests in market gardens.
They are aggressive, destructive and highly territorial, often taking out smaller local birds such as wagtails, wrens and finches.