Room 19 Environmental Issues

1. Room 19 Environmental Issues • Term 2 2012

2. Room 19 Issues • Laura: What environmental threats do turtles face? • Hannah: What are the effects of feral cats on bird life in Australia? • Jazmyn: How do you feel about culling Koalas on Kangaroo Island? • Libbie: What threats do owls face in their survival? • Billy: How do you feel about galahs being culled at Aldinga/Willunga? • Sam: Do you agree that culling seals on Kangaroo Island is the right thing to do? • Amber: What has happened to native animals in Australia as a result of land clearing? • Jack: What problems have seals caused on Kangaroo Island? • Zac: When and why were rabbits introduced? Was it a good idea? • Imogen: What effects have feral cats had on the environment? • Darynne: What problems do possums cause in New Zealand? • Blake: What problems have feral cats caused Australian native animals? • Ryan: What effect has the rabbit had on Australia? • Scott: What threats do marine life face from humans? • Jordan: What are the effects of feral plants on Australian wildlife? • Kyle: What effects have foxes had on Australian Wildlife? • Ebony: How have European Carp affected the River Murray? • Kristen: How do you feel about culling sharks in China? • Shannon: What effects have the introduction of black rats had on Native animals in Australia. • Chloe: What threatens the bilbys survival? • Jacombe: Are there any Australian snakes that are endangered?

3. Most koalas are being culled mostly because loggers chop down trees which reduce there shelter and food. • The biggest threat to Koalas is the disease chlamydia which causes infertility. • Koalas are expanding in most areas such as Kangaroo island and Queensland so they cull them to reduce the population. How do you feel about culling koalas on kangaroo island? • Some people feel sad about koalas being culled, but some people are happy about them being culled, mostly residential areas. • Some people think koalas as pests as they can intrude your garden/area. • But other people think koalas as pets or just an animal.

4. How do you feel about culling sharks in China? Everyday, "fishermen" catch sharks, pull them out of the ocean, cut off their fins, and throw the still-living remains back into the ocean, where they slowly bleed to death. It's called shark finning, and it's happening all over the world. Forty million. 40,000,000 sharks are slaughtered for their fins every year, according to National Geographic. That raises the issue from animal cruelty to global crisis. And why are they killed? shark fins are considered a delicacy in China. Shark fin soup is a luxurious meal, and sign of prestige in Chinese culture. In my opinion I think it is terrible to think that sharks all over China are being killed for a soup! They should have the chance to live their life. And for the record they are monsters for letting those poor sharks bleed to death! STOP SHARK CULLING IN CHINA! By Kristen

5. What are the effects of feral cats In Australia? • Feral cats live in forests, apartment complexes, and restaurant parking lots. Basically, they go where they can get food. Feral cats eat the food important for the other predators and due to the high population numbers, not only do they eat all the small native animals, they leave nothing for the other predators. • There are an estimated 60 million to 120 million feral cats Feral cats also carry a deadly disease that is harmful and deadly, particularly for the native marsupials. It is called Toxoplasmosis. It causes blindness, paralysis, respiratory disorders, and loss of young due to stillbirth and spontaneous abortion • An estimated sixty million feral cats live in the United States today. • When the animal control find a feral cat they trap them and kill them By Hannah

6. What has happened to Native animals in Australia As a result of land clearing? As the results of land clearing of the native animals Over 5 million parrots, honeyeaters, robins and other land birds are killed each year by land clearing. For every 100 hectares of bush destroyed, between 1,000 and 2,000 birds die from exposure, starvation and stress. Half of Australia's terrestrial bird species may become extinct this century unless habitat destruction is quickly being controlled. Nearly half our mammal species, including some wombats, wallabies and bandicoots, are either extinct or threatened with extinction as a result of land clearing, habitat destruction and other threats. By amber

7. What effect have rabbits had on Australia Rabbits where introduced to Australia in 1788, they were bred for food, but have caused problems for farmers. They eat all of the crops and are a pest, but for some they are more common known as house hold pets. Rabbits have had a massive effect in Australia, so big in fact that in 1907 there were orders to build a Rabbit Proof Fence. This was made part of a movie in 2002. Some would disagree that rabbits should go but for know it looks like they are here to stay.

8. On kangaroo island penguin lovers want a cull of fur seals because the seals are hunting the penguins. The penguins are close to extinction. The New Zeland fur seal population eats over 150 tones of fish and penguin. According to The Advertiser August 8 2011 there were 30,000 seals on kangaroo island. There are 40 of them that specialise in killing the penguins. As a result of this John Aliffe preposes that there should be a cull to protect the population. Fishing boats are taking nothing compared to the seals. A count in West Island near Victor Harbour there were only 50 penguins down from 2000 were there in 2001. Is culling seals on kangaroo island the right thing to do? g

9. When and why were rabbits introduced. In Australia, rabbits are a serious mammalian pest and invasive species. They were introduced in the 19th century, and cause millions of dollars of damage to crops. Various methods in the 20th century have been attempted to control the population. Conventional methods include shooting and destruction of warrens, but these had only limited success. In 1907, a rabbit-proof fence was built in western Australia in an attempt to contain the rabbits. The Myxoma virus, which causes myxomatosis, was introduced into the rabbit population in the 1950s, and had the effect of severely reducing the rabbit population.

10. What threats do owls face in their survival? • Owls lose there habitats from loggers chopping down trees which reduces there food and shelter and threatens all of the other breeds of birds. • Feral cats can scare the owls away by chasing them or climbing trees and attacking them. • Vultures can scare owls away from there shelter and eat baby birds and make there territory. • If there was a bush fire and if the owl was out getting food for their young, as they come back their shelter will be burnt and plant life will be destroyed. By LibbieCrago

11. A council in Southern Tasmania says galahs are a costly and dangerous nuisance because large flocks are killing trees, killing other birds and chewing through power lines. "We were looking at all sorts of other ways of doing it but unfortunately the council had to make this decision based on expert advice”, a local resident said. The decision to cull the galahs has angered bird lovers. Why are galahs being culled at Tasmania

12. What environmental threats do turtles face? Turtles face threats like nesting problems, predators and things like poaching and much more. A major reason why turtles throughout the world are in danger is the loss of nesting habitat. Turtle eggs are particularly vulnerable to predators. The threat does not end when the egg is hatched. Hatchlings have to escape from animals like foxes and things like sharks. Turtles also face threats from commercial fishing and motor boat propellers close to the surface.