A beautiful photo of a Tasmanian river has gone viral on social media because of the sad theory behind it.
Shared by a Tasmanian resident on social media, the photo shows the Tamar River in the north of the state appearing noticeably empty.
The person behind the post believed it may have been empty due to the culling of black swans in the state.
“I cannot adequately describe how angry I remain about the Tamar Valley swan killings,” they captioned the post, which has amassed over 1000 likes.
Thousands of black swans, that are native to Australia and mate for life, have been killed in Tasmania in recent years.
Last year, a permit to kill up to 200 protected black swans at a trout fishing estate in the Central Highlands was approved by the Tasmanian government’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE).
An NRE spokesperson told the ABC at the time the swans “were fouling thereby rendering it unsuitable” as a habitat for trout, an introduced species that Tasmania has become famous for.
“Recent waterbird surveys confirm that black swans continue to be widespread and locally abundant through central Tasmania and that taking up to 200 individuals was not considered a threat to their regional population,” he said.
According to Greens MP Dr Rosalie Woodruff, 8000 native swans were slaughtered in the three years prior to 2019, all of which were permitted by the government under crop protection permits.
“Of those, 460 swans were shot between 2015 and 2018 from two farms adjacent to the Tamar Island Wetlands Conservation Area – a place where birdlife is protected for its unique value,” Dr Woodruff said in a statement.
Greens MP Vica Bayley has further condemned the state’s Liberal government, telling news.com.au the “sanctioned shooting of hundreds of protected swans and their baby cygnets in the Central Highlands each year is beyond belief”.
“This is a gross destruction of protected native wildlife that would appal most Tasmanians and completely undermines our identity as a place that protects and respects nature and wild places,” he said.
Mr Bayley said the native birds are already facing intense pressures from climate change, salmon farming pollution, and estuarine habitat loss.
“Locals across the state have observed a steep reduction in the breeding of black swans and flock sizes.”
Blasting the NRE, he said Tasmanians should have “no confidence” in the monitoring data the department relies on to approve property protection permits.
“It is spatially inadequate, lacks local assessment, and fails to account for the cumulative and lag effects of changing environmental impacts,” he said.
“We are living in a biodiversity crisis and any attack on native species has a knock-on and cumulative effects throughout the food chain.”