Leonardo DiCaprio calls for the protection of the Tasmanian Swift Parrot in Instagram post
Leonardo DiCaprio has turned to social media to share the plight of the critically endangered Swift Parrot to the world. What he said.
Tasmania
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An image shared by Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is quickly going viral with more than 17k likes in the first two hours it was posted.
The actor posted a call to action for people to pledge their support to protect the remaining breeding habitat of Swift Parrots in Tasmania.
He encouraged people to join the environmental conservation organisation Re:wild, a charity he is a founding board member of.
“Australia Conservationists have won a temporary injunction to stop logging in the Tasmania nesting sites of the Critically Endangered Swift Parrot,” the post said.
“Only an estimated 750 Swift Parrots remain, yet forest destruction has continued in their sole breeding sites in eastern Tasmania.”
The post covered a recent decision of the Tasmanian Supreme Court to grant an injunction pending a hearing of a legal challenge brought by the Bob Brown Foundation.
The Bob Brown Foundation celebrated the release of DiCaprio’s post, which also called for an end to native forest logging in Tasmania and Australia.
Environmental activist Bob Brown invited DiCaprio to visit Tasmania, its forests and wildlife for himself.
“Leonardo DiCaprio has put Tasmania on the map big time, and the plight of the Swift Parrot is now well and truly global,” Bob Brown said.
“We are delighted to see Leonardo’s full endorsement of our campaign to end native forest logging and save the critically endangered Swift Parrots.”
Bob Brown Foundation’s Jenny Weber said an interim injunction on one forest coupe, which is part of the bird’s breeding habitat, had been secured.
Conservationists are encouraging the Australian government to uphold their zero extinction commitment.
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