Regional Victorians

There have been few happy stories in the media today regarding animal welfare, an issue of importance to 98% of Victorians (Labor Government's Animal Welfare Action Plan 2017). The decline in biodiversity in our country - indeed our state - brings tears to the eyes. We can't let World Animal Day conclude without making mention of the plight of our precious native waterbirds, many species unique to our country. In recreational native waterbird shooting, typically around 400,00

Yesterday The Age reported "Duck numbers are in Crisis" with good reason. Australia's native waterbirds are at perilously low numbers, many species, including those unique to our country, having been on a steady decline for years. (Centre for Ecosystem Science, University of NSW) Record heat and dry spells are stressing them further. Sadly, many of Victoria's waterways are now dry. Remaining native waterbirds are being forced to congregate at areas where there is some water

Click the post to see both pictures. Which is more popular? Which is safer, more ethical, humane and sustainable? If you answered the picture on the left, you passed the intelligence test and you are one of 99.96% of Victorians. Less than half of a percent of the population shoot waterbirds, an activity which has been proven to be inhumane and unable to be policed or controlled at the multitudes of waterways around our state. Many of these waterways are not only home to a gro

Nature Based Tourism has become increasingly popular in the last five years according to the latest Tourism and Transport Forum reports. All visitor categories recorded stronger growth for visitors seeking an experience of the natural Australian environment than in overall visitor numbers (see figure 1). In 2016, 5.2 million International visitors (over two thirds of the total International visitors), over 20 million domestic overnight visitors and 23.6 million day visitors

Watch this short video and have your say. With 98 percent of Victorians metro and rural telling our state government that animal welfare is important, it's pleasing to see the Minister for Agriculture recently announcing new animal welfare measures. We need her to be true to her word for the sake of our precious native waterbirds, hundreds of thousands of whom are brutally killed and maimed at waterways around Victoria each Autumn. Other states have long banned the practise f

More than 3.2 billion international tourists travel the world each day. "Australia's natural beauty rich and rare, remains a major drawcard for overseas visitors." (The Australian July 2017). This "wide brown land" of ours has a huge number of endemic birds compared to other countries, the most biodiverse waters, the most reptiles, truly unique giant birds and marsupials found nowhere else on earth. "The combination of our unique wildlife and environments now attracts circa 7

Rural Victorians are applauding the government's decision to support a new wetlands tourism project at Lake Tyrrell. The tiny town is now predicted to see visitor numbers increase from 42,000 to 192,000 per year by 2025, bringing a massive revenue boost to the area. Given the state of Victorias rural economies, it's great to see the government hopefully getting on board with the growing and highly lucrative trend of nature tourism. The recent Auditor General’s Report followed

Every year, dozens of bird species use the East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF), travelling up to 13,000 klms between Russia to Australia and New Zealand and back. Each stop over is vital to the animals’ survival. Despite legislative protection and several international conservation agreements, many of these shorebirds have suffered massive population declines in the last 30 years. Shorebirds are dying in crisis numbers all along the flyway. Loss of habitat is resulting in

Thanks to the NSW forward thinking government, ARMIES of wealthy Chinese are heading to regional NSW - swapping their smog for our grog — after the state government launched a major new advertising blitz to get more cashed-up Asian holiday-makers into the bush. (Daily telegraph May 2017) A whopping 1.2 million Chinese flocked to Australia last year with the Chinese tourism market worth around $13 billion to Australia by 2020. But many of those holiday-makers have not thought

#ANIMALWELFARE #CRUELTY #birds #wildlife #victoriangovernment #environment #ecosystem