Rat pack food for thought

By Tania Martin
KALLISTA people fear feeding cockatoos at Grants Picnic Ground is attracting rats.
However, a local businesswoman has refuted the claims as scare mongering.
Townspeople presented a 275-signatory petition to the Shire of Yarra Ranges last week, calling for the feeding of cockatoos at the picnic ground to be stopped.
The council has no jurisdiction over the picnic grounds because it is operated by Parks Victoria but Lyster Ward councillor Samantha Dunn hopes to raise awareness on the environmental impacts of feeding wild birds.
Cr Dunn said with a continual food supply for wild birds, the population of cockatoos and rosella will continue to flourish and the environment doesn’t have the capacity to support the growth.
She said it was up to the council to raise awareness of the issues surrounding feeding wild birds.
However, Cheryl Campbell, owner of Grants on Sherbrooke, located at the picnic ground, has questioned the worth of the petition to the council because she has a 20-year lease with Parks Victoria.
Ms Campbell said the bottom line is that bird feeding is allowed until the end of her lease in 2019.
Jesper Hansen, the petition organiser, said one of his concerns is that seeds left on the ground from feeding the cockatoos can attract forest rats and mice to the area.
But, Ms Campbell said she has never seen any rats feeding on bird seed.
“People might see bird seeds on the ground during the day but there is usually little or no seeds left on the ground by night time,” she said.
Ms Campbell said she also monitors the type and quantity of seeds visitors feed the birds, which is in accordance with Parks Victoria guidelines.
“We only sell small bags of a balanced bird seed mix to minimise the quantities going into the park,” she said.
Mr Hansen said the other main issue was the noise of the cockatoos.
“The noise level is quite horrendous some days,” he said. “It’s like kids screaming.”
Mr Hansen said he would like to see the feeding stopped.
“We can’t stop the birds from coming here but if we stop feeding them they might not hang around,” he said.