It wasn't long after moving to the beautiful Cassowary Coast of Northern East coast of Australia, that I found myself totally smitten by a Cassowary chick and his big Daddy who patiently took his young toddler on their daily route through our yard and sacrificed the nuts, fruits & berries they found to make sure his chick was fed. We'd be in awe as they'd enter our yard from the forest, these huge mysterious birds so powerful yet gentle in nature, majestic & incredibly beautiful. My admiration for them soon turned into worry.

There have been too many Cassowary deaths this year and a huge amount of ignorance from politics on this issue. We all heard the story about the 3 juvenile chicks from the same family mauled to death by a dog in Cape Tribulation, the many deaths & injuries on the road and to add salt to wound, the Cassowary rehabilitation centre had to closed it's doors to adult Cassowaries due to lack of funding, leaving sick & injured adult's to be euthanised (which was the drive to start this petition). An unfortunate example not long ago when a Vet had no choice but to euthanise an adult Cassowary due to Government neglect of the real issue. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/08/20/4296786.htm 

(The rehab centre has fortunately been reopened to adult Cassowaries after public pressure, good work guys)

Like other birds, Cassowaries have a huge key role in our ecosystem, they eat the fruit & spread the seeds through their poo around the forest, these huge mounds of Cassowary poo then sprout many different species of plants & trees (I personally see this in my yard). They are a huge part in the continuation of these important forests. They are also important for our tourism as people literally flock from all over the world to see a Cassowary. They are much more than just seed spreaders or a town mascot, they are beings from the ancient world, they share their ancestral genetics with dinosaurs...but are we going to be the ones to wipe them out? 

We need to realise at this moment that we are either responsible for their extinction on this planet or for their survival. In an ever growing and busy world we are creating, we need to realise that this is not just OUR world. We are the ones responsible for moving into their home, cutting down their forest and building our towns, homes & crops in replace of lush fruit bearing trees responsible for housing thousands of creatures and the oxygen we breathe. We need to responsible for creating laws that protect these creatures, stop further clearing and  fragmentation of  cassowary habitat including with fences, Lower speed limits, effective dog control and continue funding to ensure all sick and injured Cassowaries (& wildlife) have access to proper care & rehabilitation back into the wild.

World Cassowary day was hosted in my home town of Mission Beach. It was a fantastic day with many amazing supporters, artists, environmental conservationists and friendly faces from all over the country! Get excited for World Cassowary Day in the Daintree next year.  http://www.worldcassowaryday.com/ 

What do we want? 

• The cassowary to be placed on the Federal Threatened Species Action List. (email him personally here ;) threatenedSpeciesCommissioner@environment.gov.au)
• Protection of  all the remaining cassowary habitat through buyback and  incentives to landholders 
• Identify and implement traffic management to reduce speed limits through known cassowary crossing zones & law enforcement on law breakers.  
• Stronger regulations and  enforcement of  dog laws in Cassowary Areas  
• Reinstate the system for  Cassowary Rehabilitation at the  Garner's Beach centre  that  worked successfully three years ago that provided ALL sick & injured Cassowaries with the right care, treatment & rehab back into forest. 

to find out more about 'our Cassowaries' click here. http://www.funkthesystem.net/our-cassowaries.html the 'Cassowary Coast Regional Council' 

Want to help manifest things even quicker? Email

ceo@ccrc.qld.gov.au the 'Cassowary Coast Regional Council' asking to take the steps for better safety & survival of the Cassowaries before Cassowary Day!