It’s hard to believe in the current day, but did you know that Australia ranked 10th in the world for the number of trophy imports of protected mammal species?1 That’s 10th in the world for countries bringing home the body parts of wildlife hunted overseas for private display including trophies...
On Thursday the 25th of March 2021 a prescribed burn conducted by the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) tore through 1,800 hectares of forest approximately 25 kilometres east of Manjimup in Southwest Western Australia.
The blaze burned throughout the area known as one of the most important habitats for Critically Endangered numbats. It’s within one of just 36 internationally recognised Global Biodiversity Hotspots and home to a raft of other threatened species and ecosystems.
To that end we put out a tender for the wildlife toll of prescribed burning practices in Southwest Western Australia to be analysed, seeking to understand the impacts the prescribed burning regime is having on wildlife and their habitats and identify opportunities for improvement.
A consortium of Denmark Environment Centre, Warren Catchments Council, and Fire and Biodiversity WA were selected to lead the project. With scrutiny on prescribed burning practices intensifying in Western Australia and nationally, we release Analysing the Wildlife Toll of Prescribed Burning Practices in Southwest WA – this report makes clear there is much to do and no time to waste.
