This link is to a report in today’s SMH on the efforts of wardens at Sydney’s Manly Beach to save the remaining Little Penguins from the attentions if a dog released from a boat.
“Ms Treichler said there were only five pairs of penguins left in the area and they had kept a low profile since seven of them were killed in a dog attack last month. In mid-December Manly Council voted to establish tighter controls and improve the fencing to protect the endangered colony.The council called on the Environment Department to declare the area a ”critical habitat” and called for a ”zero-tolerance” approach for infringements. ”We lose penguins all the time – that’s why they are not increasing,” Ms Treichler said. ”In the ’50s we had hundreds of penguins. For [some] human beings their lifestyle seems to be more important than the penguins.”
I spoke to Angelika a few months ago and she said that two of the volunteers had had to go to hospital for injuries from aggressive dog owners a few months before that. Amazing how some people consider themselves more important than everything else. Mind you, what can be done? Nothing seems to bring on an internet flaming like suggesting drastic measures to be taken against people’s pets. Cheers,
Tony