The City’s Letter to the Editor of the Fremantle Herald following a 1.3.25 article that omitted information provided by the City, 6.3.25
For attribution to City of Cockburn Director Sustainable Development and Safety Dan Arndt.
The City of Cockburn is concerned an article by Katherine Kraayvanger omitted vital information provided by the City in its media response to the Fremantle Herald about fox predation of turtles at Bibra Lake, reported in Deadly fox toll, P1, 1 March 2025.
These omissions, selective inclusion of some of the City’s response and failing to seek our response to other serious claims made in the article, misrepresent the City’s historic, ongoing and adaptive commitment to protecting the local Southwestern Snake-Necked Turtle population over many years.
Your article refers to quotes from Walliabup Wildlife Warriors who say the City is not improving, adapting, acting on, analysing or responding to, and is even ignoring “major issues impacting the current and future success of these turtles”, and regarding fox trapping and abatement.
The City refutes this. The City has significantly increased investment in feral animal management to $65,000 in the past 12 months. Of this total, $40,000 is specifically for fox control which doubles the previous $20,000 allocation. This forms part of a $155,000 investment in a variety of turtle conservation initiatives over the last year alone.
This funding increase and expanded fox patrols — both ongoing and in response to the tragic loss of 100 turtles to fox predation in May 2024 — demonstrate direct action, in complete contrast to claims made in the article.
Your article did not include the statement from WA Wildlife CEO Dean Huxley, who said a majority of the carcasses brought in by Turtle Tracker volunteers were of poor quality having been exposed to the elements and often falling apart in pieces, making it very difficult to determine their age, time or cause of death.
The City also refutes that it has “pushed Warriors’ data away” – a claim we were not invited to respond to for the article.
The City has always welcomed the use of data collected via citizen science to inform its environmental management, along with the results of its annual turtle population surveys carried out by Murdoch University.
This includes giving volunteers permission to install cameras in City managed-reserves to assist with fox tracking. The City has worked with volunteers to establish a reporting template to ensure the data can be used by feral animal contractors.
The City has also proposed a coordinated regional fox control strategy through the Perth South West Metropolitan Alliance (PSWMA), which is currently being investigated by the alliance, including funds for a regional Fox Monitoring and Targeted Control Project.
The City's commitment to citizen science is well demonstrated through its turtle tracker pilot program, which has evolved into the Saving Our Snake-Necked Turtle (SOSNT) project in partnership with Murdoch University, and being the first Local Government to recruit and train residents to undertake this important work.