DINGO DAY and CANDLE NIGHT..
A day of celebration, education and exciting entertainment will be held in support of the Fraser Island Dingo.. SAUSAGE SIZZLE, RAFFLES/EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL, MUSIC, SKYDIVING DISPLAY
HELICOPTER FLYOVER, WILDIFE PRESENTATION by Tess Wildlife Sanctuary. Culminating at sunset with the lighting of 3000 CANDLES creating a giant 60 metre effigy of a Dingo. This amazing display will be designed by JORGE PUJOL, foremost expert in candle-lit public art statements who has promoted humanitarian and environmental causes around the world.. Community involvement is essential to make this momentous day a success, candles/bags will be available from 10AM ..$2 per bag. VENUE: DAYMAN PARK..HERVEY BAY DATE: SUNDAY 5th. DECEMBER. COMMENCING: 10AM till SUNSET. All are invited to participate in this spectacular event.. For any enquiries please contact: Karin...(Save Fraser Island Dingoes) Ph: 07 4124 1979
Fraser Island Dingoes Media release
National Dingo Preservation and Recovery Program (Inc. A0051763G ) says the Queensland Government’s prosecution of Wildlife Photographer is Disappointing
The National Dingo Preservation and Recovery Program (NDPRP) today expressed its disappointment at the Queensland Government’s prosecution of wildlife photographer, Jennifer Parkhurst, for her study of the dingoes on Fraser Island. Yesterday, Ms Parkhurst received a nine month suspended jail sentence and a fine of $40,000 in the Maryborough Magistrates Court in Queensland. NDPRP President, Dr Ian Gunn, today stated that: ‘It is extremely disappointing that the Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management and the Queensland Minister for the Environment, Kate Jones, have adopted such a punitive approach to this matter. It could have been resolved in a more conciliatory manner.’ Dr Gunn reaffirmed the NDPRP’s support for the role Ms Parkhurst has played in exposing the Queensland Government’s mismanagement of the high-conservation-value dingo population of Fraser Island and for the government’s lack of transparency concerning dingo management on the Island. He stated that:
‘The NDPRP certainly hopes that the prosecution of Ms Parkhurst has not been in retaliation for her public criticism of the Queensland government’s mismanagement of the dingo population on Fraser Island.’ Dr Gunn contrasted the punitive approach of the Queensland Government with that of the Victorian Government: ‘The approaches of the Victorian and Queensland governments to the management of dingo conservation issues could not be more different. We have just been through an exhaustive, transparent and inclusive consultation process on dingo conservation in Victoria, involving all stakeholders, including farming interests. As a result, Victoria now has the most progressive policy on dingo conservation in Australia. Unfortunately, this approach stands in stark contrast to the defensive and repressive approach taken by the Queensland authorities.’ Commenting on the high quality of Ms Parkhurst’s documentary material on the Fraser Island dingoes, some of which was used as evidence against her, Dr Gunn stated that: I have no doubt that, if not for these legal proceedings intervening with Ms Parkhurst’s documentary work on Fraser Island, it would have resulted in the best documentary material on Australian dingoes yet produced. It is a great loss to all Australians that this will now likely not eventuate.’ *Media release from NDPRP
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Fraser Dingoes....Government Disgrace
Fraser Island Dingoes
A wildlife photographer who became emotionally attached to a pack of dingoes on Fraser Island and filmed herself feeding them has been fined $40,000 and sentenced to a suspended jail term. Jennifer Louise Parkhurst faced 46 charges under the Nature Conservation Act and Recreation Areas Management Act. The 43-year-old Rainbow Beach woman yesterday pleaded guilty in Maryborough Magistrates Court to all charges, despite previously indicating she would contest the allegations. Defence lawyer Kristy Crabb said Parkhurst became “emotionally invested” in the dingoes known as the Hook Point Pack after seeing three pups die of what Parkhurst believed to be starvation in 2008. Ms Crabb said Parkhurst only fed the dingoes at the insistence of her former boyfriend Adam Randall. Footage that Parkhurst had filmed was played in the court as part of the prosecution's case.
The films showed Parkhurst feeding the dingoes on several occasions, including a scene from Christmas Day 2008, in which Parkhurst's voice can be heard narrating. “It's Christmas Day and the pups are getting a beautiful, beautiful present, something they've never had before. “This is a jailable offence, hopefully it's not the wrong thing to do, but ... they've never had roast chicken before.” Parkhurst narrated another film sequence after the dingoes had finished their Christmas dinner. “Well they loved that,” she said. “Three roast chickens, one of them free-range, which cost a fortune.” The next segment of film showed Parkhurst hand-feeding the dingoes some gift-wrapped dog treats. On other occasions the dingoes were fed bread, raw meat, dog biscuits, cheese and fruit – mostly coconuts that Parkhurst and her friends had collected from the beach and cracked open for the animals.
The dingoes' taste for fruit was mentioned by Parkhurst in several of the film sequences, in which she commented “fruit is their favourite food – they love it so much ... they didn't like the apple all that much, but didn't they love the mango ... they love coconut more than anything else...” On one occasion Parkhurst's 12-year-old god-daughter accompanied her to the island. The film shows the girl eating a packet of chips and a dingo pup trying to get the food. The animal then becomes bolder and nips at the girl's ponytail before grabbing her singlet and biting the child on her hip area. As the girl starts to cry, Parkhurst is seen growling at the dingo and telling the animal it had been naughty.
DERM prosecutor Ralph Devlin said Parkhurst's actions undermined the State Government's Dingo Management Strategy and increased the risk of dingoes becoming aggressive towards humans. “It was a deliberate and covert campaign in which she portrays herself as the saviour of the dingoes and the rangers as the oppressors,” Mr Devlin said. “She has, in many respects, a commendable view about the conservation of the environment. “There's a range of opinions on the effectiveness of the department's dingo management strategy. Whether the current dingo management strategy is successful or not is irrelevant to her offending.” Mr Devlin referred to a statement by a zoologist who said it was normal for predators generally and dingoes especially to be “lean and wiry”. Five of the six pups Parkhurst interacted with were destroyed by rangers after exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviour toward island visitors, Mr Devlin told the court.
Magistrate John Smith said it was clear from the recordings that Parkhurst knew she was breaking the law. He said her actions in taking a child within such close proximity to the dingoes should be condemned. Mr Smith imposed $40,000 in fines and sentenced Parkhurst to four concurrent nine-month jail terms, wholly suspended for three years. Parkhurst walked out of the courtroom smiling yesterday afternoon and told waiting reporters that she was “very shaken”. “It's been a long, difficult journey. None of it has been pleasant.” Ms Parkhurst said her next plan was to have a holiday. “Not on Fraser Island.” * Fraser Coast Chronicle.... WPAA Editorial Below.
Editorial
The Fraser Island dingoes......What can we say? Jennifer Parkhurst, a widely-respected woman, and an insulin-dependent diabetic, was rudely awakened 15 months ago at 7am by the DERM squad pounding on her door. She then spent the next six hours in a horrified state of shock, watching her personal possessions and professional equipment being pulled apart, then carried off by the DERM goons. We don't think Jennifer Parkhurst realised the vindictiveness and persistence of the louts that are employed by the Queensland Government to manage Fraser Island and the unfortunate dingoes. Some statements made by the prosecutor in the Fraser Coast Chronicle story above were quite wrong. A claim that "the dingo family were destroyed by rangers after exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviour toward island visitors" are false, the dingo family were killed out of sheer bloodymindedness. You can watch these beautiful animals at the link here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehX8LwCrWqE which shows the group of dingoes playing. All these dingoes in this footage have since been killed by the Queensland Government. We've said it before, many times, and we say it again, the Fraser Island Dingo Management Plan is the greatest wildlife management blunder ever committed in Queensland, and it's obvious that the Queensland Government will persist with this terrible strategy until there are no Fraser Island dingoes left. There are times like this when I am so ashamed to be a Queenslander. More about the FI dingoes below. *WPAA Ed.
Fraser Island Dingoes
The Save the Fraser Island Dingoes group has engaged a legal team to try to change dingo management laws on the island off south-east Queensland. The group is a major supporter of wildlife photographer Jennifer Parkhurst, who was last week fined $40,000 for feeding dingoes on Fraser. Secretary Karin Kilpatrick says many of the island's dingoes are starving and she wants the State Government to conduct an urgent wildlife study to find out if the dingoes have enough natural food sources. She says the Government's dingo management strategy is not working and the dingo feeding law needs to be changed. "At the moment, it's a stalemate," she said. "We just can't seem to agree that there is a problem and that's what has to be acknowledged first of all. "Solicitors have come on board so that we are doing everything by the law. "As I said, time will tell just how far we progress with this. "We have received advice from the legal people and political advice as well as scientific advice and we'll keep working with these people to change the strategy and hopefully also legislation." *ABC
A wildlife photographer who became emotionally attached to a pack of dingoes on Fraser Island and filmed herself feeding them has been fined $40,000 and sentenced to a suspended jail term. Jennifer Louise Parkhurst faced 46 charges under the Nature Conservation Act and Recreation Areas Management Act. The 43-year-old Rainbow Beach woman yesterday pleaded guilty in Maryborough Magistrates Court to all charges, despite previously indicating she would contest the allegations. Defence lawyer Kristy Crabb said Parkhurst became “emotionally invested” in the dingoes known as the Hook Point Pack after seeing three pups die of what Parkhurst believed to be starvation in 2008. Ms Crabb said Parkhurst only fed the dingoes at the insistence of her former boyfriend Adam Randall. Footage that Parkhurst had filmed was played in the court as part of the prosecution's case.
The films showed Parkhurst feeding the dingoes on several occasions, including a scene from Christmas Day 2008, in which Parkhurst's voice can be heard narrating. “It's Christmas Day and the pups are getting a beautiful, beautiful present, something they've never had before. “This is a jailable offence, hopefully it's not the wrong thing to do, but ... they've never had roast chicken before.” Parkhurst narrated another film sequence after the dingoes had finished their Christmas dinner. “Well they loved that,” she said. “Three roast chickens, one of them free-range, which cost a fortune.” The next segment of film showed Parkhurst hand-feeding the dingoes some gift-wrapped dog treats. On other occasions the dingoes were fed bread, raw meat, dog biscuits, cheese and fruit – mostly coconuts that Parkhurst and her friends had collected from the beach and cracked open for the animals.
The dingoes' taste for fruit was mentioned by Parkhurst in several of the film sequences, in which she commented “fruit is their favourite food – they love it so much ... they didn't like the apple all that much, but didn't they love the mango ... they love coconut more than anything else...” On one occasion Parkhurst's 12-year-old god-daughter accompanied her to the island. The film shows the girl eating a packet of chips and a dingo pup trying to get the food. The animal then becomes bolder and nips at the girl's ponytail before grabbing her singlet and biting the child on her hip area. As the girl starts to cry, Parkhurst is seen growling at the dingo and telling the animal it had been naughty.
DERM prosecutor Ralph Devlin said Parkhurst's actions undermined the State Government's Dingo Management Strategy and increased the risk of dingoes becoming aggressive towards humans. “It was a deliberate and covert campaign in which she portrays herself as the saviour of the dingoes and the rangers as the oppressors,” Mr Devlin said. “She has, in many respects, a commendable view about the conservation of the environment. “There's a range of opinions on the effectiveness of the department's dingo management strategy. Whether the current dingo management strategy is successful or not is irrelevant to her offending.” Mr Devlin referred to a statement by a zoologist who said it was normal for predators generally and dingoes especially to be “lean and wiry”. Five of the six pups Parkhurst interacted with were destroyed by rangers after exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviour toward island visitors, Mr Devlin told the court.
Magistrate John Smith said it was clear from the recordings that Parkhurst knew she was breaking the law. He said her actions in taking a child within such close proximity to the dingoes should be condemned. Mr Smith imposed $40,000 in fines and sentenced Parkhurst to four concurrent nine-month jail terms, wholly suspended for three years. Parkhurst walked out of the courtroom smiling yesterday afternoon and told waiting reporters that she was “very shaken”. “It's been a long, difficult journey. None of it has been pleasant.” Ms Parkhurst said her next plan was to have a holiday. “Not on Fraser Island.” * Fraser Coast Chronicle.... WPAA Editorial Below.
Editorial
The Fraser Island dingoes......What can we say? Jennifer Parkhurst, a widely-respected woman, and an insulin-dependent diabetic, was rudely awakened 15 months ago at 7am by the DERM squad pounding on her door. She then spent the next six hours in a horrified state of shock, watching her personal possessions and professional equipment being pulled apart, then carried off by the DERM goons. We don't think Jennifer Parkhurst realised the vindictiveness and persistence of the louts that are employed by the Queensland Government to manage Fraser Island and the unfortunate dingoes. Some statements made by the prosecutor in the Fraser Coast Chronicle story above were quite wrong. A claim that "the dingo family were destroyed by rangers after exhibiting increasingly aggressive behaviour toward island visitors" are false, the dingo family were killed out of sheer bloodymindedness. You can watch these beautiful animals at the link here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehX8LwCrWqE which shows the group of dingoes playing. All these dingoes in this footage have since been killed by the Queensland Government. We've said it before, many times, and we say it again, the Fraser Island Dingo Management Plan is the greatest wildlife management blunder ever committed in Queensland, and it's obvious that the Queensland Government will persist with this terrible strategy until there are no Fraser Island dingoes left. There are times like this when I am so ashamed to be a Queenslander. More about the FI dingoes below. *WPAA Ed.
Fraser Island Dingoes
The Save the Fraser Island Dingoes group has engaged a legal team to try to change dingo management laws on the island off south-east Queensland. The group is a major supporter of wildlife photographer Jennifer Parkhurst, who was last week fined $40,000 for feeding dingoes on Fraser. Secretary Karin Kilpatrick says many of the island's dingoes are starving and she wants the State Government to conduct an urgent wildlife study to find out if the dingoes have enough natural food sources. She says the Government's dingo management strategy is not working and the dingo feeding law needs to be changed. "At the moment, it's a stalemate," she said. "We just can't seem to agree that there is a problem and that's what has to be acknowledged first of all. "Solicitors have come on board so that we are doing everything by the law. "As I said, time will tell just how far we progress with this. "We have received advice from the legal people and political advice as well as scientific advice and we'll keep working with these people to change the strategy and hopefully also legislation." *ABC
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Dingoes 1/9/10
Dingoes
Here is a WIN News clip showing a starving Fraser Island dingo.....but according to the Queensland government, such dingoes dont exist! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH-j7HMGiTQ (Copy and Paste)
Meanwhile, the group representing residents on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland says the fines for bringing domestic dogs to the island are not a strong enough deterrent and pose a risk to the local dingo population. Two dogs were allegedly brought to the island earlier this year. There is a $100 fine for bringing a domestic dog onto the island, with an extra $200 penalty if the dog is not removed within 24-hours. Fraser Island Association president David Anderson says some people are not worried about being fined.
"We'd like to see it publicised that people can't bring dogs onto the island," he said. "We don't want it to be the situation where people see it as a cheap alternative to kennel fees because a $100 fine, if you can afford that, it's probably cheaper than putting a dog into a kennel for a week or a fortnight." Mr Anderson says dogs have the potential to bring diseases to the island, which could devastate the dingo population. "The fine that was publicised in relation to the first incident - and that was a $100 fine - which is a pretty paltry amount of money when you think about the danger of bringing dogs onto Fraser Island have," he said. "[In particular] in relation to the dingo population ... you've perhaps got dogs that aren't neutered and dogs that aren't immunised." *ABC
Here is a WIN News clip showing a starving Fraser Island dingo.....but according to the Queensland government, such dingoes dont exist! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH-j7HMGiTQ (Copy and Paste)
Meanwhile, the group representing residents on Fraser Island off south-east Queensland says the fines for bringing domestic dogs to the island are not a strong enough deterrent and pose a risk to the local dingo population. Two dogs were allegedly brought to the island earlier this year. There is a $100 fine for bringing a domestic dog onto the island, with an extra $200 penalty if the dog is not removed within 24-hours. Fraser Island Association president David Anderson says some people are not worried about being fined.
"We'd like to see it publicised that people can't bring dogs onto the island," he said. "We don't want it to be the situation where people see it as a cheap alternative to kennel fees because a $100 fine, if you can afford that, it's probably cheaper than putting a dog into a kennel for a week or a fortnight." Mr Anderson says dogs have the potential to bring diseases to the island, which could devastate the dingo population. "The fine that was publicised in relation to the first incident - and that was a $100 fine - which is a pretty paltry amount of money when you think about the danger of bringing dogs onto Fraser Island have," he said. "[In particular] in relation to the dingo population ... you've perhaps got dogs that aren't neutered and dogs that aren't immunised." *ABC
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
This starving Fraser Island dingo has around 4 pups, and also has diarrhoea. The photo was taken during the week of 12/8/10. The Queensland government says there are no starving dingoes on Fraser Island, but if there were......"its entirely natural!" What a disgraceful way to treat an animal. What sort of State are we living in when such blatant cruelty is supported by the Labor Government and the Queensland RSPCA.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Fraser Island Dingoes 10/8/10
The Queensland Sunday Mail has driven another nail into the coffin of the Fraser Island dingoes. In an poorly written and researched article in the Mail last Sunday, John Sinclair was quoted as saying that the people wanting protection for the Fraser Island dingoes, were peddling a campaign of misinformation by showing pictures of starving dingoes. He claimed in the article that starving dingoes are a "natural" occurance, and they die off so other dingoes can be well fed! It's not the first time Sinclair has attacked efforts by others to protect the remaining dingoes from the Queensland State Government.
John Sinclair fought really hard with his own money and time against the Jo Bielke Peterson government to protect Fraser Island, as many others have done on other issues around Australia. Now the dingoes and other wildlife habituated on the Island appear to be sacrificed to the great God of Tourism. The recent Queensland government "independant" review into the Fraser Island Dingo Management Plan found the Plan was working fine...of course the Review would say that, the Review was wholly run by the State government consultants and bureaucrats who designed and administer the current Dingo Plan.
We've said it before and we say it again, the Fraser Island Dingo Managment Plan is the greatest wildlife management blunder ever committed in Queensland. Its difficult to understand why Sinclair would support this cruelty.* WPAA
John Sinclair fought really hard with his own money and time against the Jo Bielke Peterson government to protect Fraser Island, as many others have done on other issues around Australia. Now the dingoes and other wildlife habituated on the Island appear to be sacrificed to the great God of Tourism. The recent Queensland government "independant" review into the Fraser Island Dingo Management Plan found the Plan was working fine...of course the Review would say that, the Review was wholly run by the State government consultants and bureaucrats who designed and administer the current Dingo Plan.
We've said it before and we say it again, the Fraser Island Dingo Managment Plan is the greatest wildlife management blunder ever committed in Queensland. Its difficult to understand why Sinclair would support this cruelty.* WPAA
Monday, July 26, 2010
Fraser Island Dingo Dinner 27/7/10
Save the Fraser Island Dingoes organisation is having a Dingo Charity dinner at Hervey Bay on the 4th September, at the Hervey Bay RSL Function room. For Reservations phone 41241979, great guest artists, including Keri McInerney, Stevie T, Riverhead with special guest Mark Nuske, k'gari performers and more! Tickets are $50 each or $90 for a couple.
Fraser Dingoes 27/7.10
The fate of Australia's ancient dingo was sealed almost 30 years ago after five simple words - "a dingo took my baby" - forged an image of fierce, wild killers. The raging war by farmers and pastoralists to protect their livestock against wild dogs and generations of crossbreeding with domestic dogs has decreased the dingo gene pool by as much as 30 per cent, now classifying them as vulnerable on the threatened species list. The death of baby Azaria Chamberlain in 1980 was the most publicised dingo attack. Now, a group of passionate dog lovers are working to dispel the common misconceptions surrounding dingoes. "Many myths and fallacies surround the dingo, diminutive and naturally timid creatures that will favour 'flight' over 'fight' any day," WA Dingo Association president Darren Griffiths said. "They are gentle, loving and affectionate. Dingoes are not the 'baby-eating monsters' as they are often wrongly portrayed."
Labelling themselves as dingo conservationists, Mr Griffiths and group vice-president Leigh Mullan own two pure-bred dingoes - Loxie and 12-month-old Wylie which was rescued at just four weeks old after its parents were shot. Stepping up their fight to save dingoes, the pair recently bred their first litter in captivity. Mr Griffiths and Mr Mullan say the use of steel-jawed traps - which cause prolonged pain to dingoes until they died - was cruel and inhumane and should be banned and replaced with rubber padded soft-hold traps. "We understand the issues of stock predation but there are issues of needing to protect dingoes as well," Mr Mullan said. *WA News
The Opposition says a survey of dingoes on Fraser Island off Queensland's south-east coast does not indicate the dogs are healthy. It was thought there were between 100 and 200 dingoes on the island. The Government last week tabled the interim report for stage one of a study during a budget estimates hearing at Parliament House. It shows the dingo population on the island is larger than thought, with rangers tagging 231 dingoes and about a third of the population yet to be caught and tracked. Opposition sustainability spokesman Glen Elmes says there needs to be greater public involvement in the Government's Fraser Island dingo population study. Mr Elmes says it is a flimsy document that raises more questions than it answers. "A healthy population would be far more than 200," he said. "What you need to be able to do is have a gene pool that's deep enough that will stop a situation where you've got siblings mating with each other and a real risk of breaking down the genetics within the breed on Fraser Island." Mr Elmes says he doubts the interim report provides an accurate picture. "Until you start to include locals who live on Fraser Island, the people who represent the various groups on Fraser Island, as well as Indigenous people, you're not going to get a true and accurate look at the way in which the populations of dingoes on Fraser Island are split up," he said. *ABC
Ed Comment; Glen's quite right of course, and the so-called study the Government is doing is being done by the same people who are responsible for the Fraser Island dingo "management plan". Of course they would claim the dingoes are okay!
Labelling themselves as dingo conservationists, Mr Griffiths and group vice-president Leigh Mullan own two pure-bred dingoes - Loxie and 12-month-old Wylie which was rescued at just four weeks old after its parents were shot. Stepping up their fight to save dingoes, the pair recently bred their first litter in captivity. Mr Griffiths and Mr Mullan say the use of steel-jawed traps - which cause prolonged pain to dingoes until they died - was cruel and inhumane and should be banned and replaced with rubber padded soft-hold traps. "We understand the issues of stock predation but there are issues of needing to protect dingoes as well," Mr Mullan said. *WA News
The Opposition says a survey of dingoes on Fraser Island off Queensland's south-east coast does not indicate the dogs are healthy. It was thought there were between 100 and 200 dingoes on the island. The Government last week tabled the interim report for stage one of a study during a budget estimates hearing at Parliament House. It shows the dingo population on the island is larger than thought, with rangers tagging 231 dingoes and about a third of the population yet to be caught and tracked. Opposition sustainability spokesman Glen Elmes says there needs to be greater public involvement in the Government's Fraser Island dingo population study. Mr Elmes says it is a flimsy document that raises more questions than it answers. "A healthy population would be far more than 200," he said. "What you need to be able to do is have a gene pool that's deep enough that will stop a situation where you've got siblings mating with each other and a real risk of breaking down the genetics within the breed on Fraser Island." Mr Elmes says he doubts the interim report provides an accurate picture. "Until you start to include locals who live on Fraser Island, the people who represent the various groups on Fraser Island, as well as Indigenous people, you're not going to get a true and accurate look at the way in which the populations of dingoes on Fraser Island are split up," he said. *ABC
Ed Comment; Glen's quite right of course, and the so-called study the Government is doing is being done by the same people who are responsible for the Fraser Island dingo "management plan". Of course they would claim the dingoes are okay!
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