A LITTLE JUSTICE FOR BIRDS IN CAIRNS
COURT.
In a follow up to a court case in July when a fish
farm worker was given a suspended sentence for destroying 2000 birds, a company
director was fined $35,000. In a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency
the company also has to spend $50,000 per year for the next five years on
"effective pond management systems to prevent bird mortality".
QPWS regional director Clive Cook welcomed the
conviction. As was mentioned earlier I penned a letter to the Editor of the
Cairns Post in July about the apparent disregard held by some to the value
of wildlife.Hopefully it may have had some little influence as the same
magistrate handled the second case.
The closing paragraph in today's
Cairns Post's article reads "A former company director and two employees of the
farm will face court later this year on similar charges".I am not aware if other
media covered the item last night. Hopefully that was the case.
In an unrelated case a Chillagoe
man was in court also yesterday for poisoning 128 Galahs. His neighbour had been
feeding a flock for some time and the EPA put a stop to it and as a result the
birds helped themselves to the defendant's fruit trees.
As a result he was fined $3,000
and ordered to pay the EPA $1,500 as restitution to the
environment.
YOUR COURT REPORTER:
Del. Richards, Fine Feather Tours, Mossman,
NQ.
<www.finefeathertours.com.au>
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