Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Guidelines released for cassowary protection
Media release
16 March 2010
New guidelines have been released to help protect the iconic southern cassowary in Queensland's Wet Tropics.
Departmental spokeswoman Carolyn Cameron said the guidelines would ensure new developments and infrastructure were cassowary friendly and would help people to understand when approval may be needed under national environmental law.
"Increasingly, we're finding the cassowary's habitat is being separated by developments or roads. This stops them from reaching essential foraging habitat and also puts them more at risk of being hit by cars.
"These guidelines provide the information people need when building or developing in the area to better protect the cassowary and its habitat.
"Cassowaries feed on native fruits in the rainforests and then disperse the seeds in their droppings. This is vital for other species that also rely on these plants and fruits.
"So, by protecting the cassowary we're helping also to protect our rainforests.
"Development that avoids adverse affects on this protected species is more likely to be approved under national environmental law."
The draft guidelines were developed with input from cassowary experts and released by the minister for community consultation on 31 July 2009. All recommendations received were considered and incorporated into the guidelines.
The guidelines are available at: www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/casuarius-casuarius-johnsonii.html
Media contacts
Public Affairs
Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone: +61 2 6275 9248
Fax: +61 2 6274 1094
public.affairs@
environment.gov.au
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