Parakeets cull is racist, say wildlife experts

Urban Ring-necked parakeet fouragin on a back-yard peanut feeder (Leiden, the Netherlands)Britain’s naturalised parrot is now officially a pest. Forty years after it first bred on the outskirts of London, the ring-necked parakeet today joined gulls, crows and magpies on the short list of birds which can be legally shot without special permission.
Riverland West Local Action Planning Association's Anna Reid checks on a sprinkler tap used to water redgum trees at Hogwash Bend, near Wakerie.
A GROUP of conservationists have pitched in to buy water to protect habitat for the threatened regent parrot species.
A small number of Nature Foundation SA supporters donated money to buy 6.8ML of water to save thirsty river red gums at Hogwash Bend, near Waikerie, on the River Murray.
The water was pumped through a sprinkler system at four different sites over the winter months.
River red gums provide the largest nesting site for regent parrots.
There are fewer than 500 breeding pairs of the threatened species left in the state.