John Young, Feral Cats and Night Parrot

John Young’s talk in Melbourne last night has further boosted interest in the Night Parrot and what can be done to protect the population discovered by John in south-west Queensland, and indeed any other populations that may be out there. Given that we know now that these critically endangered birds are being killed by feral cats, I remain deeply concerned that there is no government involvement in moves to protect them. The suggestions of some folk that all governments are evil and hopeless and should be kept in the dark about the whereabouts of the parrots are ill-advised and dangerous. If these people had their way, the Lord Howe Island Woodhen would have been extinct long ago. So too the Orange-bellied Parrot. The Noisy Scrubbird would be a distant memory. The fact is that notwithstanding some mistakes, active intervention by governments both in Australia and overseas has consistently been critical in saving endangered species. The facts are beyond dispute. I’ve ventured before the opinion that the Night Parrots discovered by John belong neither to him nor to the leaseholders of the grazing property where they occur. It should be remembered that the Queensland Government has a legal responsibility to act to protect the parrots. That said, I think John Young is an obvious person to be appointed by government to co-ordinate or play a key role in the implementation of an environmental management program to protect the parrots. His skills and experience would contribute enormously in the planning of measures to control feral cats; in undertaking further research into the parrots; and in engaging in wider management issues such as fire and grazing controls. Given that governments are cash-strapped these days, there could be an important role for an organisation like Bush Heritage Australia to take over ownership of the grazing property. So there’s my suggested solution for a pathway forward: a combination of John Young, private enterprise and government. Stranger things have happened. Finally, there is an obvious need for calls of the parrot to be distributed.  It is a no-brainer. That will do more than anything to try to pinpoint other populations before cats or whatever knock them off. Hopefully John will recognise the wisdom of that before it is too late. Greg Roberts