Full Breakdown
Permit Approved for Large-Scale Culling of Galahs and Little Corellas
5/14/2026, 8:13:44 PM
Agricultural Practices and Bird Population Growth
Station managers say the bird surge stems from on-site grain production, storage and cattle feeding, which create an artificial food source. The 1 million-hectare lease sits on the Barkly Tablelands, adjacent to Lake Woods, a near-permanent lake that can swell to about 1,000 km² during floods.
Key Participants
Key participants are Troy Setter (CPC chief executive), Minister Marie-Clare Boothby (NT Parks and Wildlife), Dr Amanda Lilleyman (BirdLife Top End), Mitch Rose (BirdLife Top End), Dr Sam Phelan (Protect Big Rivers) and Allana Brown (Environment Centre NT).
Scale of the Permit and Associated Figures
The cull targets 20,000 birds—15,000 galahs and 5,000 little corellas. CPC runs about 400,000 cattle across the NT, Queensland and Western Australia and recently spent roughly $300 million on the Beetaloo acquisition. It has also applied for water licences of 3,060 ML yr?¹ (Newcastle Waters) and 7,290 ML yr?¹ (Tandyidgee) for a staged irrigation development over a 10-year period.
Government and Company Position
Minister Boothby said bird numbers had reached “unsustainable levels” and that the permits were issued after consulting NT wildlife scientists, with legal and animal-ethics considerations. CPC described the birds as damaging crops, equipment, posing biosecurity risks such as avian influenza and salmonella, and disrupting staff sleep and mental-health, calling the permit a “last-resort” option.
Conservation Groups' Opposition
BirdLife Top End, BirdLife Australia, Protect Big Rivers and Environment Centre NT condemned the permits, noting Lake Woods is a nationally significant wetland supporting over 100,000 waterbirds. They warned that poison use could cause secondary poisoning of non-target species such as greater bilbies, red goshawks, Gouldian finches and grey falcons. Rose highlighted that the use of poison is illegal in Victoria.
Conflicting Views on Monitoring and Environmental Impact
Dr Lilleyman argued there is no standardized monitoring of galah and corella populations in the region, questioning CPC’s assessments. CPC, however, says bird numbers are tracked at a nearby nature refuge. The risk of poison-induced collateral damage to migratory waterbirds remains unquantified.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We've actually been quite successful in the last couple of weeks using noise from firearms to scare birds away and quite a few of them have moved away from the site,” — Troy Setter, Chief Executive, CPC
- “It's shocking that 20,000 of Australia's iconic birds are being culled,” — Mitch Rose, BirdLife Top End
- “This kind of ill-considered destruction is exactly why Australia leads the world in species extinction rates.” — Dr Sam Phelan, Protect Big Rivers
- “The government-mandated slaughter of Australia’s iconic wildlife on such a massive scale is simply blood-curdling,” — Allana Brown, Environment Centre NT
Future Outlook
The culling permits lapse on 30 September 2026. Conservation groups have called for a federal investigation into the approval process and for stricter assessment of secondary poisoning risks. CPC’s water-licence applications remain under review.
