I heard today on a TV clip that this is on this weekend. Does anyone
know which channel is covering it and at what times ? I'd like to watch
it.
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Stephen Ambrose
Sent: Wednesday, September 02, 2009 12:38 PM
To: 'Peter Shute';
Subject: Re: Repco Rally
Yes, that would be interesting. More interesting would be what they
would do if an official discovered a freshly killed one - would they
report it or kick it out of sight?
I don't know about the skinks, but I would have thought the other
species mentioned would be across the road before you had time to think
about it.
Peter Shute
Hi Peter,
The concern about animal road mortalities arises from the speed that
these rally cars travel, where some rally stages are being held and the
behaviors of some animals when being chased by high-speed cars.
I've heard that the rally cars could be reaching speeds of up to 160
km/hr. In my opinion, there's little chance of an animal avoiding a
vehicle at that speed if it chooses to cross the road at the wrong time.
Secondly, some animals (e.g. lyrebirds and potoroos) panic and try to
avoid oncoming vehicles by running along the edges of roads for a
100-300 metres, rather than retreating back into bushland straight away,
thus making them more susceptible to being struck by fast-moving
vehicles.
Thirdly, parts of the rally go through high conservation areas and
bisect well-defined wildlife corridors (e.g. Richmond Range National
Park and boundary areas between Wollumbin and Mebbin National
Parks/Wollumbin State Conservation Area). Therefore, there is regular
animal traffic through these areas.
There is also a significant likelihood of disturbance to animal species
that have already started breeding close to where the rally will be held
(including Grey-headed Flying-foxes at the Bray Park maternity roost,
which are at risk of aborting fetuses or abandoning newborn offspring as
a result of numerous helicopters flying low overhead).
Then there is potential degradation of habitat as a result of dust and
sediment runoff into creeks and vegetation, and pollutant (oil, fuel,
rubber
residues) runoff in the event of rally car accidents. This is a
particular concern to me because there are at least two
nationally-threatened frog species (Giant Barred Frog and Fleays Barred
Frog) and there is an unconfirmed record of a third species (the
Stuttering Frog)in creek systems that rally cars will be crossing.
As for race officials kicking wildlife carcasses out of site, I think
that is most unlikely. The race organizers have assured members of the
public that there will be close monitoring of the situation by their
ecologists and wildlife vets. Given the sensitivity of the situation and
the level of public concern, I don't think there will be any
shenanigans. I'm not sure how effective their wildlife ambulances will
be though - I don't think many animals would survive collisions with
speeding rally cars.
Stephen Ambrose
Ryde, NSW
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