Home›Questions on Notice›QoN 2216

❓ A parliamentary question regarding sandalwood harvesting practices, including harvest reduction, market changes, and the use of poisoned grains for pest control, revealing that harvest levels haven't been reduced, a buyer was dropped due to low orders, and 1080 bait is used for rabbit control, with no specific studies on bird impacts.

AnsweredQoN 2216Legislative Council

Asked

20 November 2014

Member

Hon Robin Chapple

Portfolio

Forestry

QuestionView source ↗

Having regard to the recent parliamentary inquiry into sandalwood, and its recommendation for an urgent reduction in sandalwood harvest to prevent the extinction of mature sandalwood in the wild, I ask: (a) has the Forest Products Commission's (FPC) level of harvest of native sandalwood in the wild been reduced: (i) if yes to (a), by how much and when did this occur; and (ii) if no to (a), why not; (b) has the FPC recently ceased dealing with significant buyer(s) or marketer(s) of sandalwood: (i) if yes to (b), who was/were the person(s) or company(ies), when was the deal terminated and for what reason(s); (c) has the removal of this person(s) or company(ies) caused the FPC to lose markets for sandalwood: (i) if yes to (c), which markets have been lost and by how much, in tonnes, have sales been reduced; (d) in trying to improve sandalwood regeneration rates, is the FPC spreading grains such as oats that have been coated or impregnated with poison to try to kill animals that might otherwise take sandalwood seeds: (i) if yes to (d), what poison is being used, in what quantities and with what types of grains; (e) what target species does the FPC believe will be affected by the poison, and on what research is this based; (f) has the FPC carried out any studies, either itself or via another body, to establish whether these poisoned grains may harm or kill non-target native species: (i) if yes to (f), where can that research be found and what are its key findings; and (ii) if no to (f), why not; and (g) has the FPC conducted any studies that look specifically at the potential impact of poisoned grains on native bird species: (i) if yes to (g), what were the key findings and where can the research be accessed; and (ii) if no to (g), why not?

AnswerView source ↗

Answered

19 February 2015

Responded by

Minister for Agriculture and Food representing the Minister for Forestry

Response time

91 days

(a) No
(i) Not applicable
(ii) Refer to tabled paper 1670.
(b) Yes
(i) The company was Lau Shan in Taiwan. The Forest Products Commission (FPC) is no longer selling sandalwood to this company following a sustained period of low orders. Sales ceased in 2013.
(c) No
(i) Not applicable
(d) No. The FPC has a program to control feral animals that might damage sandalwood seedlings or dependant plants. The program is not aimed at controlling animals that might take sandalwood seed.
(i) The FPC uses
"Rabbait"
1080 oat baits to reduce rabbit pressure on sandalwood seedlings and other native flora on which hemi-parasitic sandalwood is dependant.
(e) Rabbits. The research is based on the Department of Environment and Conservation's
1080 Training Manual
and Department of Agriculture and Food's
Landholder Information for the Safe Use and Management of 1080
.
(f) No
(i) Not applicable
(ii) Research on the use of 1080 in controlling introduced vertebrate pests whilst minimising impact on non-target species has been incorporated into the Department of Environment and Conservation:
1080 Training Manual
and Department of Agriculture and Food:
Landholder Information for the Safe Use and Management of 1080
.
(g) No
(i) Not applicable
(ii) Refer to response for (f)(ii).

View on Parliament of WA