LORNE’S Cumberland Resort has backtracked on its plan to cull a colony of birds living in its underground carpark, following significant community opposition.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Cumberland said there were approximately 150-200 welcome swallows living in the resort’s four-level carpark, numbers which had been steadily increasing over the past five years.<\/p>\n
They said last week’s decision to cull 50 birds to control population numbers was “a last resort” that followed several unsuccessful attempts to humanely deter the swallows.<\/p>\n
The resort obtained a licence through the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action last year to undertake the cull, a process the spokesperson said was “extensive”.<\/p>\n
Following community outrage that saw resort staff branded online as “barbarians” and “monsters”, the cull was called off by the resort’s owners corporation, which first approved the action.<\/p>\n
“Community feedback obviously was very strong, and we listened to that,” the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
Local wildlife carer and bird expert Alice Doherty said welcome swallows were a “really important part of our ecosystem”.<\/p>\n
“They eat huge, huge volumes of insects\u2026If we took away the welcome swallows, we’d end up with an overload of insects that we don’t really want.<\/p>\n
“The reason they get a bad rap is because they nest against buildings and they tend to roost in the same spot, sleep in the same spot, at night.<\/p>\n
“It just results in a pile up for poo.<\/p>\n
“A lot of birds will move locations where they sleep, whereas the welcome swallows don’t; they always go back to the same place.”<\/p>\n
She said she was not surprised by the fierceness of the community backlash to the cull.<\/p>\n
“I’ve found that the Lorne community does care about wildlife.<\/p>\n
“I knew the Lorne community would get behind what I perceived to be the right thing and they did me proud, like they always do.<\/p>\n
“All of the wildlife carers in the Geelong region thank the Lorne community for their support and we feel really grateful to them for using their voices.”<\/p>\n
She speculated that the Cumberland’s previous attempts to deter the welcome swallows had been informed by companies more experienced in pest control than native species.<\/p>\n
“I felt disappointed that they hadn’t asked us what might be effective and really disappointed that they thought [the cull] might be effective, because it won’t be.<\/p>\n
“If they were to have killed those 50 swallows, they would just end up with 50 swallows back again.”<\/p>\n
Ms Doherty, along with another local wildlife carer, will now meet with the Cumberland Resort’s management on Monday, April 8 to discuss solutions, which she suggested would likely involve the humane relocation of the colony.<\/p>\n
She said the response from the hotel had already been “really positive”.<\/p>\n
“I’m looking forward to hearing what they have to say,” the Cumberland spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
“If there is another solution to reduce the number of swallows in our carpark that we haven’t already thought of or tried, then, perfect.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LORNE’S Cumberland Resort has backtracked on its plan to cull a colony of birds living in its underground carpark, following significant community opposition. A spokesperson for the Cumberland said there were approximately 150-200 welcome swallows living in the resort’s four-level carpark, numbers which had been steadily increasing over the past five years. They said last […]<\/p>\n