Potts Point cockatoos on the brink of extermination
The State Government will soon permit Potts Point building owners to exterminate the local cockatoos that have been causing damage to their building.
The owner’s corporation, who asked NSW Environment for permission to cull the birds, have pulled out of discussions with City of Sydney over other possible methods of preventing the bird vandalism.
A one-line email from Council’s Urban Ecology Manager Katie Oxenham to CEO Monica Barone confirmed the extermination will happen shortly.
Greens Councillor Irene Doutney criticised the role of the building managers during their discussions with Council.
“They just haven’t negotiated properly and they are not going to,” she said.
“They made all manner of spurious demands of the City, asking for a range of guarantees and indemnities that any building manager would know Councils can’t and don’t provide.”
In a statement to Council, the owner’s corporation said the suggestion to install shock traps was unworkable because of the building’s heritage and the costly installation.
“They decided to pull out all together saying they had been told that alternative solutions wouldn’t work,” Councillor Doutney said.
The owner’s of the building and the building manager refused to comment on the matter.
The news of the upcoming cull comes after a petition of over 400 signatures was sent to State Minister for Heritage and the Environment, Robyn Parker.
Ms Parker and her office are yet to respond.
Lisa Harrison, who started the petition with Katrina Moriarty, said the cull would bring other potential dangers to the Potts Point area.
“I’m appalled and saddened by the idiocy of the owner’s corporation. They are simply not open to reason as well as being seriously ethically challenged,” she said.
“If poison is used to cull, there is a danger to local pets and wildlife who may eat the dead birds. There is no controlling where the birds may fly to before they die, or how many may eat the poison. Plus [there’s] the very real danger of run-off of poison into the environment.”
Councillor Doutney said: “The state government have said that National Parks staff will supervise the poisoning but unless the birds drop dead instantly I can’t see how they’ll stop them flying off and being eaten by someone’s pet or maybe even one of our much lauded local birds of prey.”
The initial application for permission to cull the birds raised a mixed response from residents and brought criticism from Lord Mayor Clover Moore MP.
Previous culls have taken place under the approval of NSW Parks and Wildlife Service around the CBD, Ultimo and Castle Hill however cockatoo related problems still exist on some of those sites.
