A common agricultural pesticide caused the mass deaths of 200 little corellas across Newcastle in March, the New South Wales environment watchdog has confirmed.<\/p>\n
The Environment Protection Authority said toxicology tests had detected the presence of barley grain and the pesticide fenitrothion in all the deceased birds.<\/p>\n
Fenitrothion is a pesticide commonly used in agriculture to control insect pests.<\/p>\n
An EPA spokesperson said the regulator was continuing its investigation and urged \u201canyone with information about the deaths or possible pesticide misuse\u201d to come forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe EPA has been conducting a thorough investigation and will continue looking into all lines of enquiry,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
In March, volunteers described \u201cextremely confronting\u201d scenes in suburbs including Hamilton, Carrington, Waratah, Broadmeadow, Lambton and near the University of Newcastle, where dead and sick birds were found.<\/p>\n
Vets and volunteer wildlife carers said they did everything they could to rescue surviving, severely sick birds.<\/p>\n
Most of the birds were little corellas but several sulphur crested cockatoos were also affected.<\/p>\n
Jason Gordon, the EPA\u2019s executive director of regulatory operations, said at the time it was a distressing situation, with affected birds exhibiting symptoms such as bleeding, staggering, paralysis and an inability to fly.<\/p>\n
The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) is currently reviewing the regulation and use of fenitrothion, which is legal and, as noted by the EPA, \u201creadily available for purchase\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a government notice last year, the APVMA said it was \u201cnot satisfied\u201d that current use instructions for fenitrothion products would protect non-target species.<\/p>\n
The notice said fenitrothion was toxic to birds and use of it on a range of crops and some fruit and vegetables \u201cin accordance with currently approved instructions posed an unacceptable risk to birds.\u201d<\/p>\n
In NSW, the negligent use of pesticides that harms non-target animals or plants can attract penalties of up to $500,000 for individuals and $2m for corporations.<\/p>\n
The EPA spokesperson said anyone with information about the deaths or possible pesticide misuse should contact the EPA on 131 55<\/p>\n