Meat lures a normal method of surveying wlidlife | Letters to the editor

There are a number of methods used in wildlife surveys. I've used all of them on my conservation property over the past 14 years. Direct observation is slow and time consuming. Live trap and release, using a bait to lure the animal into the possum-type cage trap works well. And setting up a remote camera is another method, either with nearby bait, or set to record incidental movement. All are useful, validated methods, to help determine nearby resident populations.

Variables would include season, weather conditions, type of bait used,regional food sources available, etc. Other data, such as scat collection, prints, fur collection, bone/ skeletal identification all help to create a composite picture of residents populating particular areas.

I see no reason, either from an animal welfare perspective,or from a scientific perspective, to be shocked with the BBF methodology for data collection.

LAST weekend I was moved to participate in an action to slow the degradation of takayna/Tarkine.

I had the privilege of being amongst courageous and determined defenders of this unique and magnificent area. I saw the damage caused by roadworks leading to the head of the valley earmarked for the dumping of toxic tailings waste from the Rosebery mine. MMG, China-controlled mining operation, intends to pipe tailings waste over the Pieman impoundment into the second largest cool temperate rainforest in the world.

These forests, under continual threat from forestry and mining, have been recommended for world heritage listing because of uniqueness and biodiversity, let alone carbon storage for a warming planet.

MMG has acknowledged that alternatives exist. Why is the Tasmanian government privileging MMG profit over the preservation of this unique asset for our future? Why are roadworks and drilling permitted by the state when the Commonwealth has yet to approve it.

Mining is undoubtedly important for the West Coast but to suggest that there are no alternatives for tailings storage is mischievous because MMG reports clearly indicate that there are.

I urge all Tasmanians to visit the takayna/Tarkine and marvel at this unique corner of Tasmania.

CONGRATULATIONS to Tim Russell for his brilliant letter (The Examiner, June 24) and also to Barry Prismall for the original article (The Examiner, June 19). The Lake Malbena proposal is a disaster that sets a dangerous precedent for the future of our World Heritage Area and national parks.

However, I must take issue with both gentlemen about their not being "greenies". I'm sorry gentlemen but both of you are "greenies". You may not belong to the Greens party but you care about the environment, you care about the future for our young people, you care about our wild places. I'm pretty sure you also care about many other major issues such as climate change. So, from a self-confessed "greenie" from way back, keep caring guys and don't hide your light under a bushel.

The world will be all the better for it.

WHY are the Labor and Greens leaders getting all steamed up about what the premier knew about the eligibility of Adam Brooks to be a candidate for the state election? Surely there are far more important matters to be dealt with by Parliament. Why do they need to have an investigation, wasting time and money on a matter that is now totally irrelevant?

Whatever the outcome of an investigation, it will not give either the Labor or Greens another seat in government. The people made their choice and the Liberals won the election. For goodness sake get over it and get on with governing Tasmania, earn your money, not by harping on about what cannot be changed, but by providing sensible and good representation.

I whole-heartedly disagree with Mr Blount's views on graffiti and hoons (The Examiner, June 24). Vivid, bright, colourful street art enhances otherwise drab and lifeless grey public spaces, often drawing tourists and art appreciators as seen in the many Melbourne laneways.

While I wouldn't support defacing historic buildings, I hardly see the grey concrete eyesores of the Royal Park steps as worthy of polishing and preserving in their, ahem, glory. The reason police allow these "menaces" to go unpunished is that Launceston has much more significant problems than bother with people who are, debatably, improving the quality of life in the city.

I also don't see "inner city noise" as a reason for the lagging downtown shopping trade. Internet shopping, and frankly high downtown rents are preventing this lovely city from having anything to write home about in the retail industry. I could probably hear a finch break-wind on a Saturday evening in town.

What our beautiful city needs is more, not less. More art, more shops, more jobs for young people and more reasons to spend time in it. Cleaner, quieter walkways won't make people stay, but a vibrant city with a beating pulse just might.