After all the interaction about the legal aspects of collecting road kills
and even picking up a feather, I would like to report a radio conversation
that was relayed to me by a third party (my husband, who has a memory like
an elephant and is only slightly 'green'). He was listening to a Queensland
program on Friday while driving from Brisbane to Byron Bay from
approximately about 11.30am onwards with very few interruptions.
A Queensland 'Parks and Wildlife' officer (maybe the title is not quite
correct?) was taking questions from the public when a lady phoned in to say
that she had picked up an injured bird and was caring for it in her home and
she wanted advice as to when and how she should set it free. She was given
advice about how to assess the bird's ability to fly, and if it was able to
fly a certain distance she could then release it to fend for itself. He then
said if it is not able to fly and look after itself then she should adopt it
as being a dependant member of her household. There was absolutely no
mention of needing to obtain a license or any other legal responsibility on
her part. This does not correlate with all the legal documentation that has
been published on this site in recent weeks, but does seem to take a far
more realistic and humanitarian approach to the natural instincts of people
who want to look after any little wild creature they happen to find in
difficulties. I applaud this attitude but do realise that the laws are not
made for honest people. As far as I know the lady who phoned in was not a
licensed wildlife carer.
-----Original Message-----
From:
Behalf Of iandowling
Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2003 11:15 AM
To: Terry Pacey; ;
Subject: Collecting dead birds (Vict.)
It an offence to collect bird feathers in Victoria but I've never heard of
anyone being prosecuted. So much for the law.
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