Big Bird Race
Added to website: 09 May 2004
The world’s biggest bookmaker, Ladbrokes.com, has teamed up with the Conservation Foundation and the Tasmanian State Government to launch a pioneering new environmental project- the Big Bird Race.
Between May and August 2004, 18 Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses (TSAs) will migrate from three small islands off Australia’s mainland to South Africa. All 18 TSAs have been saddled with transmitters, allowing scientists to closely follow their progress in the first ever study of juvenile TSA migratory movements.
The race will highlight the many dangers facing the Tasmanian Shy Albatrosses- particularly longline fishing techniques - thousands of baited hooks dragged behind boats - drowning the birds by dragging them for miles underwater. Around 300,000 seabirds die from longlining each year, with many albatross species facing extinction as a direct result.
The book on the race has been opened and Ladbrokes’ traders have priced up the runners’ chances of success in a variety of categories. Information from the scientists as well as any lead a runner has gained by being ‘quick out the traps’ has been factored into the prices offered. All the profits from the Big Bird Race will be placed in a fund for global seabird conservation administered by the Conservation Foundation. Punters are also given the option of directing their winnings directly into the fund.
Ladbrokes.com hope that the project will encourage more countries to sign the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels (ACAP). ACAP requires signatory states to take specific measures to reduce seabird by-catch from longline fishing and improve the conservation status of the birds. Britain recently signed up to the agreement, but many more countries need to do so if the albatrosses are to be saved.
For more information and to place your bet visit: www.Ladbrokes.com/bigbirdrace
