Tasmanian Devils To Be Listed As An Endangered Species
One news story that grabbed my attention today was the announcement that the Tasmanian Devil is being decimated in such dramatic numbers that they are to go onto the Endangered Species listing. The ABC News reported that
A deadly facial tumour disease has so depleted the wild population of Tasmanian Devils that the species is now about to be declared endangered.
More than half of the wild devil population has been wiped out by the disease, with researchers scrambling to isolate disease-free populations on offshore islands as an insurance policy.
A team at the Mt Pleasant Laboratories in Launceston has found that the devil facial tumour disease, DFTD, which is killing Tasmanian devil populations, is not caused by bacteria or a virus as previously thought, but by an infectious line of cancer cells which are passed from one to another by biting.
The news story has generated a huge amount of comments on the site and more than one commenter blames the Tasmanian Government:
Tasmania's got the most stunning environment in Australia yet the Tasmanian governments over the years have been happy to completely destroy it to make a quick buck rather than embracing ecotourism and its sustained revenue stream.
I wouldn't be surprised if it was dioxins and other chemicals which have found their way into the water and land that were causing these problems. The only way this is going to be stopped is if Paul Lennon and his buddies at Gunns come face to face with the problems they've saddled Tasmanians with by having their family members fall sick.
Until that day comes, Lennon and Gunns will trash the forests, rivers, lakes and coastlines of Tasmania. The Liberals have shown they're no better, though, so it's up to Tasmanians who care about the future of their state to start electing minor parties and independents.
And another defending the government:
Keep the facts to the Devils and the problems they have - i actually know of a place in north west Tasmania that are breeding them for the government without disease in a farming community ( maybe the chemical theory is not so clear?) a lot of Tasmanian's are working to help the situation. blaming them doesn't help the situation.
Several websites have emerged to help save the Tasmanian Devil:
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