cradlemountain

AS AN ANIMAL CARER AND ROAD KILL COLLECTOR, I HAVE EXPERIENCED THE CONSTANT BATTERING OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY…........ because of what I believe in.
I am against the 1080 poison campaign.

The killing of wallabies by 1080 poison is a most painful experience and underhanded way in which the Government supports and funds Although there are groups of the native animal carer, there is no support wit the R.S.P.C.A. or animal cruelty organisations to stop the cruel way of eliminating the native marsupial browsers.
I am a photographer and have filmed the dead animals that had died from poisoning with 1080 by’ Forest Industries’ and ‘Primary Industries’ so that the trees can grow without the animals grazing on them .

Some of the things that have happened to me over the last three years:

I had my cameras and tools stolen along with important documents. I have no editing facility. I could do so much more if someone can donate equipment for this cause. I am looking for a movie camera and a program to edit with on my computer as I have limited funding. I want to document these orphaned animals that we care for so that the world can see the real animals and the love we have for them. They are so different to cats and dogs. They have managed to stay around for thousands of years, since Gondwanaland. then we come along and destroy there habitat in only 200 years.

I had life threatening surgery and have just started to recover
My 1-acre organic garden was poisoned with chemicals while I as hospitalized. The Government Environment Department came out and tested my soil and I have the resulting mess. DDT, 245T, Round up Benzenes etc. I have studied and taught ‘Permaculture’ for the last 25 years and now my garden is contaminated.

My home was robbed of personal home-birth photographs, family photographs (I was an orphan myself and have not got over this loss). My art and research photographs (36 years of my photography, negatives and landscapes) that I had previously prepared to put into a book for my children was gone.The robber started to burn my house down. I was in Adelaide, visiting my children, hundreds of miles away, when the robbery happened. Then out of the blue, I was hospitalized, not knowing what was occurring back home.

Can you imagine the mind of this person who did this to me? He wanted me to come home to no house but he stole my images. My house did not suffer much due to a fire alarm that made the robber stamping out the burning cloth on my carpet in my bedroom. My insurance covered the cost of replacing the door and frame, which he set fire to and fixed the window that he managed to force open. The police here did not care that much. The sad thing is that I am sure I know who did this to me. His mate assaulted me 4 months after this and injured me on my operation scare. Forensic took photographs of my black and blue bruises and then did nothing. I had a breakdown.

I have raised four creative environmentally concerned children. The last 16 years have been a great struggle with my health. I am putting the rest of my life into the protection of our native environment. I know there are stories out there that have a similar tragedy. I often feel alone here unable to be motivated to trusting again, as I always had an open house. What is the world coming to?

I have some great footage (video) of the Eucalyptuses ‘niton’, which is the species of tree that is taking away our alpine and sub-alpine native areas of Tasmania. The reason for this is detailed in the video and could be significant to the improvement of the ‘Forest Industries’. We need to show what has happened here to protect this wonderful environment and replace the trees that are 1 or 2 thousand years old and indigenous to this land. They are popping up underneath the niton trees and will be mowed down by the bulldozers when harvesting.

I challenged the ‘Forest Industries’ to take up some poorly used land and try to get the natural balance back but my efforts with them to tell me where they are going to lay 1080 poison only ended up with them closing and locking the door as I arrived and hiding away as if no one was there. It was important to me to know where 1080 was being laid as I am an animal carer and attend animals on the road who might well be within the 1080 rang of baiting. It is my right to know if I am handling poison which could kill me as well. I have no protection on the roads, no orange safety hats and slow signs or vest and no recognition for my work. It took me 4 /5 months to get ‘Primary Industries’ to take the carcasses and count and identify them. ‘National Parks and Wildlife’ are not in the government offices at Devonport. The receipts that I have collected over the last 6 months of animals found dead on the road have been the first count of the loss of native species in Tasmania.

I was given an injured native Platypus but ‘National Parks and Wildlife offices did not get in touch with me in time (4 days) to save its life. Now I have a list of carers that are on the same wavelength. We are trying to change things for the better. It is an unbelievable battle when you take a healthy animal and release it not knowing what the future will hold. As I walked away one day after visiting a nervous Joey hoping away from me to freedom, to discovery, I heard the chainsaws start up in the distance. My heart stopped for a long time! Four years ago there was no indication that the Lemonthyme Lodge east wilderness area was to be another Eucalyptus ‘niton’ plantation. To me it is sacred, it should remain for the fauna and flora living there in the mountains for who knows how long! It is Alpine country and Gondwanaland species still survive there. Are News Papers for Japan more important than the heritage of the Tasmanian wilderness?

Ideas: Set up a net sight to develop corridors and future planing for Tasmanian communities. Provide intelligent consultants to be a go between ordinary people, council’s governments and the industries the rape this land. Be vigilant of the losses and be involved. Have your say!

You are invited to participate in helping me if anyone has the inclination or time. I am interested in learning and being involved to design a better future for all living things! Tasmania, the island people forget.

Sarah King glass.artasmania@gmail.com