DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND: Nearly 200 people arrested for deliberately lighting bushfires that have killed a half-billion animals
In NSW, 24 were apprehended and charged with deliberately lighting bushfires. In Queensland, 98 people have been identified as the culprits. Around 85% of bushfires are caused by humans.
KATABELLA ROBERTS: ‘State authorities in Australia have arrested nearly 200 people for alleged arson since the devastating bushfires began… In NSW, 24 were apprehended and charged with deliberately lighting bushfires. A further 53 people are facing legal action for allegedly failing to comply with a total fire ban, while 47 others are accused of improperly discarding a lit cigarette or match outdoors… In Queensland, police concluded that 103 fires had been deliberately lit, with 98 people — 67 of them juveniles — having been identified as the culprits.
Devastating bushfires have ravaged Australia in recent months, killing at least 25 people and hundreds of millions of animals and livestock… Around 85 per cent of bushfires are caused by humans either deliberately or accidentally starting them, Dr. Paul Read, co-director of the National Centre for Research in Bushfire and Arson, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in September 2019.
“About 85 per cent are related to human activity, 13 per cent confirmed arson and 37 per cent suspected arson,” he said. “The remainder are usually due to reckless fire lighting or even just children playing with fire.” According to Melbourne University bushfire expert Janet Stanley, the majority of fires are lit by young people aged 12 to 24. However, worryingly, they have also been set by children as young as ten…
Those caught lighting a fire when a total fire ban is in place risk up to 12 months imprisonment and/or a A$5,500 fine, while those seen lighting or using a tobacco product within 15 metres of any stack of grain, hay corn, straw or any standing crop, dry grass, or stubble field could receive a fine of up to A$5,500′. SOURCE…
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