Bush stone curlew allegedly tied to fence near Kuranda

Shocked wildlife carers have put out a call for information after a curlew was strung up by the feet and hung on a barbed wire fence in an act described as the “most heinous thing you can possibly think of”.

A bush stone curlew was allegedly strung to a barbed wire fence in the early hours of Sunday morning. Picture: Tes Byrne

Shocked wildlife carers have put out a call for information after a bush stone curlew was strung up by the feet and hung on a barbed wire fence in an act described as the “most heinous thing you can possibly think of”.

On Sunday at about 9am, local artist Tes Byrne found the helpless bird on the fence at the Kuranda Transfer Station, located just off the Kennedy Highway at Koah.

The bird was cut down and taken into the care of Wilf Gujer from TigerLodge WildCare.

The Speewah-based wildlife carer said there was no doubt the bird had been deliberately tied to the fence and left to die.

“He had knots around both legs. Sometimes birds can become entangled but this one had human-made knots on its legs that had to be cut off. It was no accident, it was a deliberate action,” he said.

Bush stone curlews are a common sight around Far North Queensland. Picture: Peter Carruthers

Thieves on the hunt for scrap material often target the transfer station and there was evidence of another break-in at the facility on Sunday morning.

“It’s the most heinous thing you can possibly think of. They are an Aussie icon, everyone loves them apart from the Indigenous who think there are the birds of death,” he said.

“They are a very innocuous animal but to the Indigenous it’s a death bird. It’s a cultural thing and they fear them, so we know whoever it was, it was not an Indigenous person. They would not do this.”

The bird is now recovering and Mr Gujer is trying to stay optimistic about the injured animal’s chance of survival.

Wilf Gujer and volunteer Cait Van der Grinten with a pelican that they rescued from being stuck in thick mud on the Cairns Esplanade in 2020. Picture: Stewart McLean

“What you do with birds is keep them in the dark so they can put all their energy into healing themselves,” Mr Gujer said.

“We are feeling positive about it. At the moment it’s standing but we have to give it 72 hours to monitor the bird.”

The bush stone curlew was found strung up on a fence at the Kuranda Transfer Station at Koah. Picture: Tes Byrne

The Swiss-born wildlife carer, who now calls the Far North home, said although the images of the bird were disturbing, it was important to spread the word about what happened.

“Yes, it’s confronting and it’s not nice but we need people to come forward and step up. If you can do that to an animal, it’s not a big step to lash out on a human,” he said.

Wildlife carers are convinced knots were used to secure the bird. Picture: Tes Byrne

“(Curlews) are part of us, they are very lovely birds, and they belong here.

“For Tes, it was an extremely confronting situation. She is totally shattered.”

In a social media post, Ms Byrne described those responsible as “subhuman bottom feeders”.

A request has been made with Mareeba Shire Council for access to CCTV which may reveal who was involved.

TigerLodge WildCare is a self-funded organisation which rescues about 500 animals every year and currently has 32 animals in care.

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Originally published as Bush stone curlew allegedly tied to fence near Kuranda