Awareness Post Card

This morning we sent out a press release for our long time client Rainforest Rescue to help generate media attention for the Save the Cassowary Campaign. Our mission was to get a press release to all the major and regional print, radio and tv outlets across Australia. A big job was made easy and cost effective by using a long time bit of bush magic through AAPT’s medianet service. In just over an hour the release below was emailed to 500 journalists across Australia. Here is a link to the release on AAPTs site. http://www.aapmedianet.com.au/MNJ/Release.aspx?R=660900&K=8639255

MEDIA RELEASE for immediate release: June 23rd, 2010
Going Going Gone?
National Save the Cassowary Campaign Launch

The Rainforest Information Centre officially launches their new nationwide campaign, Save the Cassowary, on Wednesday, June 23rd. The endangered Southern Cassowary (Australia) perches on the edge of extinction with perhaps as few as 1000 remaining in the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland.
“The Cassowary, third largest bird in the world, is a keystone species, crucial for the preservation of rainforest diversity” says Ruth Rosenhek, director of the Rainforest Information Centre. “If they go, so too will many of the rainforest trees that depend on them for their survival. The ancient Wet Tropics in Far North Queensland rely on these flightless birds to disperse and germinate seeds of at least 80 rainforest trees and another 70 plants. “The primary threats to the Cassowary are loss of habitat and road kill associated with development. The increase of traffic through Cassowary habitat has resulted in 4 adult cassowaries being killed on roads near Mission Beach in the last 7 months.
Dog attack and obstacles to free movement in the landscape such as fences are also major threats being introduced by residential development. “At Mission Beach, subdivisions are creating more than 1000 new residential blocks and in the Daintree, 185 rainforest properties are zoned for development,” says Rosenhek. “Clearing and development of these properties would cut off essential wildlife corridors and severely fragment prime Cassowary habitat. “In 2008, Peter Garrett halted an inappropriate development at Mission Beach, now known as ‘Garrett’s Corridor’. “The Minister found the development proposal to be clearly unacceptable under the EPBC Act because of the impact it would have on the endangered Cassowary. “This was a positive step in the right direction, however there’s a lot more work to do to save this species in Australia. We’re urging Environment Minister Peter Garrett to commit $60 million for a final buyback of prime Cassowary habitat land in the Daintree and for buyback, landowner incentives and management of Cassowary habitat in Mission Beach.” The campaign also asks Queensland state government to reinstate the Daintree Ferry Levy to create an ongoing source of funds for land purchase in the Daintree.

The campaign invites supporters to sign postcards and to take cyber action on their website at www.savethecassowary.org.au. Already the Australian public have signed 2500 submissions asking Minister Garrett to take action on this very important issue and a growing list of organisations have endorsed the campaign including Friends of the Earth, Australians for Animals, the Humane Society International, The Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation (C4), Kuranda EnviroCare Inc. and Zoos Victoria. “Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and domestic animals.” says Rosenhek. “However, it is us humans who are imperilling this beautiful bird and their forest homes; the fate of the Southern Cassowary in Far North Queensland rests in our hands.”

ENDS:

For more information, visit www.savethecassowary.org.au, email: enquiries@savethecassowary.org.au or phone (02) 6689 7519.

CONTACTS:
Ruth Rosenhek (Director, Rainforest Information Centre)
PH: (02) 6689 7519 e: rainforestinfo@ozemail.com.au

Mike Berwick, (Terrain, Far North Queensland)
PH: 0419 022 629, e: mikeb@terrain.org.au