Newcastle Waters bird cull halted by parent company Terra Firma
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Terra Firma, the UK parent company of Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC), has ordered an immediate halt to plans to cull 20,000 native birds at Newcastle Waters cattle station in the NT, citing unawareness of the permit.
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Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) had obtained a permit to cull 20,000 native birds at its Newcastle Waters cattle station in the Northern Territory, citing impacts on crops, equipment, workers' mental health, and biosecurity. The permit was condemned by environmentalists. CPC's UK parent company, Terra Firma, was previously unaware of the plan.
A cull of 20,000 native birds at Newcastle Waters cattle station in the NT will not go ahead.
In a social media post, the parent company of Consolidated Pastoral Company, which operates the station, said it was unaware of the licence and instructed staff to cease any culling plans "immediately".
What's next?
The parent company, Terra Firma, says it will meet with "relevant environmental groups" when leaders visit Australia later this year.
The UK-based parent company of Consolidated Pastoral Company (CPC) has instructed its Northern Territory staff to abandon "any plans" to cull 20,000 native birds at Newcastle Waters cattle station.
CPC is owned by UK private equity firm Terra Firma, which said on social media it was previously unaware of the plan to cull birds, and would ensure it did not go ahead.
"As the owner of CPC, we were not aware of the application for a licence to cull birds at Newcastle Waters," the company said in its post.
"We have made clear to CPC leadership that this is completely unacceptable.
"We have instructed the Newcastle Waters leadership team, and CPC senior management to cease any plans for culling immediately.
" We will meet with relevant environmental groups when we are in Australia later this year and thank them for bringing this matter to our attention. "
Newcastle Waters, 280 kilometres north of Tennant Creek, was last year granted a permit to kill 15,000 galahs and 5,000 little corellas.
The granting of the licence was condemned by environmentalists and bird lovers.
The company said a cull would be the last resort to mitigate the impact of the birds on crops, equipment, workers' mental health and biosecurity.
CPC chief executive Troy Setter previously said an initial trial was successful on 30 birds, but the full-scale cull had not commenced.
He said staff had been using noise from firearms to scare birds away as an alternative solution.
NT Parks and Wildlife Minister Marie-Clare Boothby previously said in parliamentary correspondence the region's bird population had reached "unsustainable levels".
This was due to "agricultural practices such as grain production, on-site storage and cattle feeding" acting as a food source for the birds, according to the minister.
The culling permit expires on September 30.
Terra Firma was contacted for comment.
CPC is one of Australia's biggest beef producers and runs about 400,000 head of cattle across several stations in the NT, Queensland and Western Australia.
It has spent about $300 million buying the Beetaloo aggregation of stations adjoining Newcastle Waters.
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Terra Firma will meet with relevant environmental groups.
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Açık Sorular
- What specific environmental groups will Terra Firma meet with?
- What were the exact reasons for the initial permit application?
- Will CPC face any repercussions for the initial culling plans?
- What alternative pest control methods will be explored?