Concern for noise-sensitive exotic animals near new airport's flight path

Exotic animal sanctuary near Western Sydney International Airport anxious about impact of aircraft noise In short: There are concerns over how noise-sensitive exotic and native animals located near the new Western Sydney International Airport will react to loud aircraft flying overhead. An environmental impact assessment of the proposed flight paths found low to no impact on biodiversity. What's next? Passenger flights are expected to commence at the new airport at the end of October. An exotic animal advocate says she is worried about what will happen when passenger jets start flying at Western Sydney's new airport at the end of October. Only a few kilometres from Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) lies one of Australia's hidden gems for exotic animals like tigers and lions, many of which retired from the circus or had nowhere else to go. The not-for-profit Zambi Wildlife Retreat in Wallacia was built on the grounds of the old Bullens Animal World, a popular circus-style zoo and theme park from the late 1960s until the 1980s. It now operates as a sanctuary, conservation area and tour-only zoo, open to a limited number of members of the public by appointment and for a fee. Endangered species sensitive to noise Sanctuary managing director and co-founder Donna Wilson said she did not know how some of her animals would respond to the aircraft noise at the nearby airport. "It is a genuine concern for us with noise and visuals as well, because we have animals who do not like things flying over the top of them, like the meerkats," Ms Wilson said. "Luckily, we are not directly under a flight path, but we are not far away from one. And we sort of sit parallel to the runway, maybe five kilometres back this way." Ms Wilson noted how some endangered species at the retreat were sensitive to noise. "I am worried about that landing and take-off noise, you know, the thrusting and where are they going to be up in the sky," she said. Ms Wilson said recent low-flying Australian Defence Force flights over her sanctuary had caused a ruckus. "It was quite dramatic for our Przewalski horses, that nearly ran through fences," she said. Ms Wilson said there were several hundred animals at the sanctuary, including some who may be impacted by the round-the-clock flights. "We have animals that are nocturnal like our red panda. It is not going to be happy having planes flying around,"she said. Native animals nearby Annette Cam is from the Blue Mountains Conservation Society and also sits on the Greater Blue Mountains Area Environmental Monitoring Program Stakeholder Group. That program is part of the environmental oversight framework for WSI, with a noise monitoring project due to start this year. Ms Cam said WSI was located close to the Blue Mountains World Heritage site, and she had concerns about the noise impact on native wildlife. "The end of the runway is 10 kilometres from the closest boundary to the national park, which is world heritage [listed] and 13 kilometres away from the lovely Burragorang state conservation area," she said. She said there had been few studies on the impact of aircraft noise on wild animals. "Most of the work that has been done on the impact of aircraft noise on animals has been in North America and, in general, it has been done on birds," she said. "Birdsong is the main way they communicate at distance." Ms Cam said native animals such as koalas could also be affected. "People who work with koalas have told us the aircraft noise can be invasive to koalas as they start bellowing and expending that energy rather doing what they should be doing," she said. Environmental impact assessment conducted Ms Cam said some overseas studies had shown species adapting to aircraft noise. "But it is unknown which animals might be more impacted in the Australian environment," she said. A spokesperson for the federal Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts said the design of the flight paths at WSI was informed by an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and community feedback. "The EIS on Western Sydney International airspace considered potential direct and indirect impacts to biodiversity associated with the airspace and flight path design, including noise impacts," the spokesperson said. "The assessment concluded low to no impact on biodiversity." The department spokesperson also said WSI would "generate economic activity and provide long-term employment opportunities closer to home for people in the Western Sydney region". "WSI has already unlocked new business and industry opportunities, and created more than 12,000 jobs through construction alone, over half of which have come from the local area," they said. Ms Cam said it was important to acknowledge progress and economic development. "But this is a long-term issue over the next few decades as flights ramp up, so we really need to look at how to manage the impact on nature," she said. Ms Wilson said she just wanted to give the animals she cared for a peaceful retirement. "Well, now that may be ending," she said.