Homeless animals move into Harvey Norman store.
Today a group of Tasmanian animals including Tasmanian devils and quolls moved into the Harvey Norman store in Hobart. Conservationists from Still Wild Still Threatened, dressed as native animals, occupied the store, calling for Harvey Norman to stop sourcing native forest products. One protestor dressed as a Swift Parrot climbed a light post outside the store, displaying a banner reading “Stop selling native animal habitat.”
“These threatened and endangered animals have been left homeless after their prime habitat areas in Tasmania’s native forests were destroyed to make furniture for Harvey Norman stores” said Miranda Gibson, spokesperson from Still Wild Still Threatened. “Endangered species, with the support of the Tasmanian community, demand Harvey Norman cease selling products made from their native forest habitat.”
“Surveys by Still Wild Still Threatened have found evidence of Tasmanian devils and spotted tail quolls in the forests of the Styx, Tyenna and Counsel. These high conservation value forests are being ripped apart by industrial scale logging. The wood is then shipped to China to be made into furniture and shipped back to be sold in stores like Harvey Norman” said Ms Gibson.
“We are calling for Harvey Norman to stop using native forest products and change their procurement policies to only source wood from sustainably managed plantations or recycled timber” said Ms Gibson.
This action follows several protests that have taken place by forest activists around the country. The national campaign targeting Harvey Norman was launched when Markets For Change release a report implicating the company in forest destruction. The report came after months of extensive research into the chain of custody for Australia's native forests. Other recent actions include a blockade of a store in Nowra, NSW. A banner drop in the centre of Melbourne. And only days ago in Sydney an activist scaled into the roof of a store, to display a banner and drown out the shop with amplified chainsaw sounds and the noise of trees falling. With a focus on ending native forest logging around the country, the campaign is gaining momentum nationally and it appears that this will be the beginning of many actions to come.
For more information on the campaign: http://www.stillwildstillthreatened.org/campaigns/no-harvey-norman
