By ANNA USHER

The hunt is on to find out who is torturing local brush turkeys on Cremorne Point after a bird was shot with a high-performance bow and arrow on Friday.

It is the fourth brush turkey to be hunted in the same way, in the same location, over the past three years.

Police have launched an investigation and have told Mosman Collective they are treating the matter seriously.

Animal cruelty penalties in NSW are severe, with fines for individuals reaching up to $44,000 and 12 months in prison for general cruelty, or $110,000 and two years imprisonment for aggravated cruelty.

Distraught members of the public contacted WIRES around 5pm after seeing the animal’s right thigh impaled by the lethal weapon.

“It is one of the most depraved and sickening acts I have ever seen,” the WIRES volunteer, who does not wish to be identified, said.

“We got down to Cremorne Point at 5:30 and the animal was very distressed. It could still fly and ended up in a tree. It became dark very quickly and we couldn’t manage to rescue the bird.”

The volunteer said she returned to Cremorne Point on Saturday morning and discovered the bird still alive, and “in agony”.

“I had to chase it and then wrap it up in my jacket,” she said.

“The arrow had completely punctured its leg; the injury was enormous.”

The brush turkey was taken to Taronga’s Wildlife Hospital, where veterinarians euthanised the bird.

“It had no chance of surviving,” the WIRES volunteer said.

Disturbingly, she said it is the fourth time a brush turkey had been shot with a bow and arrow at Cremorne Point.

“The person responsible is depraved, barbaric, and needs to be found,” she said.

“Can you imagine if a weapon of this type hit a dog, or a child – or a jogger using the Cremorne Point Walk?

“Police said the arrow used could definitely kill someone.”

A NSW Police spokesperson said anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

BRUSH TURKEY INFORMATION FOR RESIDENTS

Brush turkeys are a protected species and generally wary of humans. However, they can become very tame around picnic grounds and homes, particularly if they have access to food scraps.

Brush turkeys can be destructive in gardens as they remove vegetation, earth and mulch to create incubation mounds.

How can you stop mound building?
Once a male brush turkey has started to build its mound, it is extremely difficult to stop it. If a mound has been established for several weeks and the male is maintaining it, you should wait 60 days to allow eggs to hatch and young to emerge before dispersing it. To deter nesting in your garden in the future, use a combination of the following:

Move the brush turkey on
When the brush turkey first shows signs of nesting at a site, spray it early in the morning with a short burst of water from a garden sprinkler, a hand-held hose or spray bottle to move the bird on. Never try to harm the bird. Aim only for the chest. Try to hide from view, so it is the location the bird is wary of, not the person. This is not to be done once eggs are laid because it may result in the inhumane death of chicks.

Create a more suitable location
If a brush turkey is raking up the mulch and building a mound somewhere you don’t want it, then set aside an area of your garden where you don’t mind if the turkey builds it. Start an open compost or grass clippings pile to encourage the brush turkey to start building. Ideally, the replacement mound should be next to at least one large tree, providing 80% to 95% shade. Dismantle the first mound daily, before any egg laying can take place. The brush turkey may be attracted to the new area and build there instead.

Peg a cover over the mound
To prevent the bird from working in an area, cover it in chicken wire or a heavy tarpaulin and weigh it down with large rocks or logs or use big tent pegs.

Prune overhanging branches
A brush turkey prefers a shady place for its nest because the temperature is easier to control. By pruning overhanging branches, it increases sunlight in the area and removes places the brush turkey may choose to roost at night.

Use a different ground cover
Put river gravel around the base of trees, and large eucalypt sticks, or other obstacles such as rocks in the ground around the plants. Plant low-growing, dense ground cover and remove overhanging branches so the area gets more sunlight.

Protection of native animals
All native birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals, but not including dingoes, are protected in New South Wales by the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.