It has been revealed that a Violet Town person has been charged after allegedly poisoning 129 wedge-tailed eagles, along with other native birds.
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The matter is due to go to court early next year.
Leaving aside this particular case, it's not the first time dead wedge-tails have been found on a property.
In 2018, a farm worker was jailed for 14 days and fined $2500 after poisoning 406 wedge-tailed eagles at properties in Victoria's east. He claimed he was ordered to conduct the cull by the property owner, injecting poison into lamb carcasses.
Eagles are a problem with young lambs, and there have been reports that groups of wedge-tails hunt in packs - giving their prey absolutely no chance.
However, it must be remembered that wedge-tails are a protected species and are a truly iconic native bird. Maybe maybe farmers should consider that lambing down ewes in their territories is not a good move. Wethers might be an option, or the finishing of steers as calving cows are at risk.
The website Birds in Backyards says: "Wedge-tailed eagles eat both live prey and carrion.
"Their diet reflects the available prey, but the most important live items are rabbits and hares.
"Rabbits usually comprise about 30-70 per cent of the diet, but may comprise up to 92 per cent."
It continues: "The introduction of the calicivirus has resulted in the decline of rabbits in many parts of Australia. It is not yet known how this will affect the wedge-tailed eagle. Other food items include lizards, birds (weighing over 100g) and mammals (usually weighing over 500g).
"Wedge-tailed eagles will kill lambs, but these make up only a small percentage of their total prey."
INTERESTING...
Always on the lookout for advertising blurb that is meaningless and more than often not based on fact. One company is offering beef packs from black angus. Fair enough, but red angus are genetically the same as their black counterparts.
The fact is the a black angus with a recessive gene can have a red calf. You would not suggest that they should look at shorthorns that are pure white and solid red coated with everything in between.
A central Victorian couple selling angus beef from a regenerative agriculture farm direct to the public says their beef meets the needs of parents concerned about the nutrition of their children. "Perhaps you are sick of your kids always being sick?"
Really. No doubt a slab of rump or a hearty T-bone will have them on the road to recovery.
RESILIENT BUNCH
Thank you to the readers of On the Wallaby for your support in a very trying 2020.
A major challenge was border crossing issues, however the deadly virus did not invade our ranks.
Farm incomes were boosted with outstanding stock prices and, in most areas, a brilliant season.