It seems that the Tasmanian’s can produce more than wood pulp from their natural resources, we welcome to the menu “Kentucky Zapped Eagles!”
Electricity towers modified after eagle deaths [ABC]
Aurora Energy has modified electrical towers at Jericho in southern Tasmania after the discovery of eight electrocuted wedge-tailed eagles.There is concern many more eagles are in danger around the state.
There are about 100 breeding pairs of wedge-tailed eagles in Tasmania but some are being killed when coming into contact with transmission lines.
Eric Woehler from Birds Tasmania says two birds were electrocuted at Jericho in February and another six were found around the towers recently.
“Eight birds in a couple of months in two kilometres of line is a very strong signal that we’ve got a problem,” Mr Woehler said.
Mr Woehler has no doubt more birds are dying on other transmission lines around the state.
“It’s shocking. The concern is you look at how many transmission lines and transmission towers there are in Tasmania,” he said.
“Wedge-tailed eagles cover most of the state in their territories; clearly there is almost certainly going to be a wider than we currently believe.”
John Devereaux from Aurora Energy says the lattice towers at Jericho were modified yesterday to make them safe and engineers are reassessing the design of the towers.
“We are protecting our wildlife … [and] it is actually reducing the outages that occur on the lines,” Mr Devereaux said.
The Environment Department’s Threatened Species Unit is investigating the Jericho bird deaths.
The eagles are listed as vulnerable under Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act and endangered under the Commonwealth Endangered Species Protection Act.
Tasmania’s Threatened Fauna Handbook, published in 1999, warned that “the wedge-tailed eagle today is little different to that of the thylacine”.
LINKS:
[1] Electricity towers modified after eagle deaths [ABC]
[2] High eagle toll fears [Sunday Tasmanian]
