The real question we need to ask about wedge-tailed eagle deaths
THE discovery of dead wedge-tailed eagles has raised many questions about the predators and their relationship with farmers. But there is a greater question about this issue that isn’t being asked, writes Ed Gannon.
Opinion
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OVER the years I’ve written plenty about the assorted vermin that causes trouble on the land — rabbits, mice, foxes, wild dogs, feral cats and even deer.
And I’ve been pretty comfortable arriving at the same position on each — knock them on the head.
Each are introduced species that can cause untold damage, even destroying livelihoods and driving people off the land.
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A mice plague will steal all your seed, leaving you with bare, worthless paddocks and no income for a year.
Wild dogs have caused so much despair in North East Victoria and East Gippsland that some farmers have given up on raising lambs, as they are literally stolen from their mothers by cruel and vicious four-legged thugs who seemingly live under the shield of government on Crown land.
But I am heading into uncharted territory writing about a native predator I can’t really bring myself to hate — the wedge-tailed eagle.
Last week The Weekly Times broke the story about 136 dead wedge-tailed eagles found poisoned on a property at Tubbut, in far East Gippsland.
This is a part of the state that is as remote as you are likely to find, so the discovery of such carnage was a surprise, as such an incident would be odds-on to go undiscovered.
But a disgruntled farm manager appears to have told authorities that a farmer had poisoned the eagles.
The Department of Environment said the birds had not eaten baits laid out for wild dogs.
According to the manager, the eagles were attacking and killing newborn lambs, causing major losses for the farmer.
This stands at odds among the bird community, which says the view that wedge-tailed eagles attack livestock is incorrect.
But it appears there are growing reports of the eagles attacking lambs, with other farmers across the state saying they have lost lambs to the predator.
The wedge-tailed eagle certainly has the means to do it.
They are huge creatures, weighing up to 5kg and having a wingspan of up to 2.7m.
They can pick up 50 per cent of their body weight. But it is their sharp claws that would be the lamb’s real enemy.
My ambivalence about jumping on the wedge-tailed eagle comes from spending a lot of time on the farm watching wedge-tails gliding around looking for a rabbit to pounce on.
They were such majestic creatures, catching an uplift of air as they circled waiting for a bunny to poke out of a burrow.
And, it appears, this is where much of the problem lays.
According to Birdlife Australia, the rabbit can make up 90 per cent of the wedge-tailed eagle diet.
It is believed the spread of the calicivirus has decimated the rabbit population, leading the eagles to seek other prey.
A young, defenceless slow-moving lamb could be the next best thing.
There is also a strong theory that the spreading drought across much of New South Wales is forcing the eagles south to Victoria in search of food, so the local population has swelled.
Nonetheless, poisoning 136 eagles would turn the stomach of most, including most farmers.
Certainly the Victorian Farmers Federation has condemned it.
It certainly risks putting farmers in a bad light.
The wedge-tailed eagle is a protected species, so killing one or more carries fines and a possible six-month prison sentence.
And it is certainly not the answer to stop them attacking lambs.
The real answer is to determine why they appear to be attacking livestock now.
And I bet the wedge-tailed eagle is not to blame for that.
Ed Gannon is publisher of The Weekly Times
@EdgannonWtn
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