Cockatoos back in the crosshairs

More cockatoos could be shot at Broadway.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is considering a request by Sydney Uni Lodge at Broadway to renew their licence to cull cockatoos that are causing thousands of dollars of damage to the building.

The license had been issued by the NPWS in August and resulted in two sulphur-crested cockatoos being killed.

City of Sydney Councillor Irene Doutney opposed the last culling.

“It’s unthinkable that the NPWS could issue a licence for what is such a cruel and obviously ineffective solution,” she said.

Cr Doutney is currently in Nagoya, Japan, to give a speech at the tenth Conference of the Parties (COP) Biodiversity Conference.

“The threat to our natural world is enormous and while other countries are going out of their way to find ways to save and encourage their wildlife and natural surroundings, we in Sydney seem to think a building is more important than one of our iconic animals,” she said.

“How many cockatoos are they going to kill to protect this building’s features?”

She said there had been a similar problem at Finger Wharf, where damaged areas were covered with a metal fabric that was successful in stopping the birds.

The owners of Uni Lodge should consider similar measures, she said.

“Two birds have been killed and another has moved in. Once this one is dead, what’s to stop more cockatoos coming along? Will they just kill all of them as well?”

A spokesperson for NPWS said licenses are only issued as a last resort.

According to the NPWS, the building owner has already spent thousands of dollars trying alternative ways to discourage cockatoos, including spikes, gel, and reflective tape.

Luke Carr, property manager of Uni Lodge at Broadway, said cockatoos have caused significant damage to the building, costing the owners tens of thousands of dollars in repairs. This included damage to the roof, window frames, and cornicing.

The NPWS said damage to property is normally done by only a small number of problem birds and it is unlikely that once these birds had been killed others would move in.

If the license is granted, the birds will be shot. The NPWS said this is the most humane method of culling.

By Alex Giblin