SPACE WIRE
Government reports warns Australian wildlife at risk
SYDNEY (AFP) Apr 22, 2003
Australian environmental protection groups renewed calls Tuesday for a halt to widespread land clearing after a leaked government report warned that thousands of animal species were threatened with extinction.

Copies of the government's Biodiversity Audit -- leaked to the press Tuesday to coincide with World Earth Day -- warned that nearly 3,000 biodiversity systems in the country were under threat and about half of them were already damaged beyond repair.

It said 22 species of Australian mammals had already become extinct and numerous species of birds, reptiles and other mammals were under threat.

Environment Minister David Kemp declined to comment on the report until it's official release at a still unspecified date.

But the Australian Conservation Foundation said the report made clear that immediate action was necessary to save Australia's unique wildlife.

"Past generations may have sleepwalked through extinctions like that of the Tasmanian tiger; we are about to do it with our eyes wide open," said the foundation's campaign director, John Connor.

"Unless we and our governments act now, future generations will rightly hold us responsible for the conscious loss of our natural heritage," he said.

The foundation and other groups said halting land clearing needed to be the top priority, along with extending the country's national parks system.

The Australian Wilderness Society and the opposition Democrats party delivered 10,000 postcards Tuesday to the office of Prime Minister John Howard protesting the practice of land clearing for agricultural and other development as one of the main culprits of environmental destruction.

SPACE.WIRE