JESSE NEILL
AN ongoing investigation by the State Environment Department has found the flock of birds that died on the oval of One Tree Hill Primary School last month were killed by a common agricultural pesticide.
More than 50 corellas fell from the sky onto the school grounds on July 10, and all but one perished.
Witnesses said the birds had multiple seizures and blood coming from their beaks – all in front of vacation care children.
The Environment Department, with the assistance of the RSPCA and Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA), has started investigations into the event, and released results of disease and toxin tests carried out on the deceased corellas last week.
“No diseases were detected, however toxicity testing revealed the presence of an organophosphate-based agricultural pesticide,” a department spokesperson said.
These are the most common form of pesticides and frequently used on crops and domestic gardens.
The spokesperson said the Department’s enquiries into the incident are ongoing.
Casper’s Bird Rescue founder Sarah King responded to the initial incident at One Tree Hill Primary School and took in the surviving corella, and has been nursing it back to health.
“He’s looking really good,” Ms King said.
“We’re waiting for a nice day to try find a new flock and (then we’ll) release him.”
Nicknamed ‘SOTH’ – Survivor of One Tree Hill – the corella is lucky to have made it out alive.
Ms King questioned the results of the Department’s testing into what caused the corellas’ deaths, arguing it was a deliberate act and not a matter of bad luck.
“If it wasn’t planned, all the wildlife would have suffered, but there was no effect to any other birds, showing it was targeted,” she said.
“What they (the perpetrators) would likely do is place the organophosphate-pesticide into the seed the bird is eating then take it out fast enough afterwards so that they don’t get caught.”
Ms King deals with the repercussions of these chemicals first-hand and believes they shouldn’t be used at all.
“If they are used, they should also have a registry of who bought them and what area they bought it from,” she said.
“Neurologically, it affects the brain and stops its functioning… you eventually stop eating and start internal haemorrhaging, bleeding out to a slow, painful, miserable death.
“To the people who have got crops and fruit trees, look at the other options; look at gas as an option, look at netting, there are alternatives that aren’t murdering the poor birds.”