Wyndham’s Indian myna bird population ‘driving out fauna’

A Werribee-raised man wants to control part of Wyndham’s population, but not in the way you may be thinking.

Tak Truong now lives in Preston but often visits his parents who still live in Werribee.

He’s now calling on other Wyndham residents to join his fight against a dangerous and invasive pest, the Indian myna bird.

He said he first came into contact with the birds when he was living in Williamstown and two of them invaded his roof cavity. “That really brought my attention to how intrusive they are,” Mr Truong said.

“When I was growing up in Werribee, I never saw any of them, but now they’re everywhere.

“My main concern is that they’re driving out native fauna, which should be quite common given that we have the Werribee River.”

Mr Truong has set up a Wyndham Indian Myna Action Group.

“My interim goal is just to set up a group of like-minded people who care about the environment of the Wyndham area and want to help control these pests,” he said.

“I guess one person isn’t going to make much of an impact, but I want to inform the community of the impact of these birds.”

Indian mynas are considered one of Australia’s most invasive pests because of their threat to native birds and animals.

For more information on the Wyndham Indian Myna Action Group, visit www.wimag.org.au or email info@wimag.org.au.