Syd
Some years ago I ran a national campaign about the practices of local
tour operators. For instance it was common practice to ram crocodiles
with boats (the frightened animal's leap into air or water was supposed
to 'thrill' tourists), or to rap on a tree or shake bamboo serving as a
bat roost, again for the same purpose. One fellow was chipping bits off
2 billion year old stromatolites at a site sacred to local Aboriginal
people, and doling them out to his clients.
I tried to introduce a motion to the Darwin Regional Tourism Association,
that operators 'not use intrusive methods' of showing people wildlife,
but it failed. And years later operators still regularly chase down
frilled lizards and snakes. I doubt whether such people will be better
behaved if they ever 'discover' birdwatching and consequently I'm very
careful about using tapes up here in the Top End, especially in parks
popular with tour operators.
Denise Goodfellow
To unsubscribe from this list, please send a message to
Include ONLY "unsubscribe birding-aus" in the message body (without the
quotes)
|
