Illegal shooting driving endangered cockatoo toward extinction
Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 7:28 
UNDER THREAT: A black cockatoo illegally shot in WA's South-West. ILLEGAL shooting in WA's South-West is pushing an endangered cockatoo species to the brink of extinction, a leading wildlife conservation group warns.
WWF-Australia says about 200 endangered Baudin’s black cockatoos are illegally shot each year to protect fruit crops and unless urgent steps are taken to stop the carnage, the birds could be extinct within decades.
WWF is urging responsible growers, fruit pickers, local communities and birdwatchers to report illegal shooting of black cockatoos. It is also calling on the WA Government to introduce a netting assistance scheme to help farmers protect their crops from bird damage, similar to one recently introduced in New South Wales.
“If NSW can protect its local horticulture and threatened species, then so can WA,” WWF-Australia South-West Policy Manager Katherine Howard said.
“Fruit-growing is a valuable industry in South-West WA, but a native species found nowhere else in the world is priceless. Surely it’s time the WA Government worked with growers and conservationists to find a solution to this ever-increasing problem.”
Baudin’s cockatoos, which are found only in the South-West, have already disappeared from about 25 per cent of their former range since European settlement and were now listed as endangered, Ms Howard said.
The birds are a close relative of the highly endangered Carnaby’s black cockatoo and face similar threats to their survival, including habit loss due to land-clearing, competition for nesting hollows from invasive bees, corellas and galahs, and illegal poaching.
“By far the biggest and most urgent threat to Baudin’s cockatoos is illegal shooting,” Ms Howard said.
She said Baudin’s cockatoos had lost considerable feeding and breeding habitat to agriculture, urban development, forestry and mining.
As their native food sources decline, the cockatoos had learned to feed on ripening apples, pears and other fruit, causing significant damage to South-West crops.
Shooting black cockatoos carries a maximum fine of $10,000 but the most a court has imposed is $3,000.
“These penalties are totally inadequate and the outdated Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 is long overdue for an overhaul," Ms Howard said.
"However, this in itself would not eliminate the problem of cockatoos damaging crops.
"The most useful thing the WA Government can do is establish a netting assistance scheme to protect both our iconic threatened species and local horticulture in Southwest WA."