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Confrontational moment: Protester holds up blood-soaked corpse of Tasmanian devil in desperate plea for action at council meeting
- A Tasmanian Devil Advocate Has Surprised Councilors
- Melissa Wells brought a bloody corpse to a debate
- One hundred demons have been killed on a highway per year
An animal activist shocked local councilors by holding up the bloody remains of a Tasmanian devil during a debate on lowering speed limits on local roads.
Melissa Wells confronted the Circular Head Council at a meeting in northwest Tasmania on Thursday saying she was a ‘voice’ for the state’s famous marsupials.
Images from the graphic protest showed Ms Wells holding the carcass of a Tasmanian devil hit by a car at the crowded gathering.
“I’m here speaking for the Tasmanian devils, because they don’t have a voice. Why don’t you help save my life?” Ms Wells said.
But when she approached the council members while clutching the bloody body, Mayor Gerald Blizzard begged her to stop and threatened to throw her out.
‘No, I’m sorry, this is confrontational, but this is what we have to deal with every day,’ she replied.
Melissa Wells rescued the Circular Head Council at a meeting (pictured) in the northwestern state on Thursday saying she was a ‘voice’ for the state’s famous marsupials.
Ms Wells said she was frustrated by the lack of action by local governments as Tasmanian devils (one found on the trail pictured) dwindle in numbers along the trail.
He eventually returned to his seat with a bloody corpse after being warned over and over again by Mayor Blizzard to leave.
Council members were discussing proposals to reduce the speed limit from 100 to 80 on a notorious 25km stretch of highway in the region.
The roads of Woolnorth and West Montagu are famous for their Tassie Devil roadside carnage, with nearly 100 of the carnivorous marsupials killed each year on it.
Hoons speeding up to 100 mph along the highway have also added to the carnage.
Mrs. Wells cares for her disabled brother, but regularly drives 30 km to clean up roadkill.
Ms Wells told Daily Mail Australia she was frustrated with the lack of action by local governments as the marsupials dwindle in numbers along the way.
“They are slowly being killed and our local council and government have been aware and have sat on their hands,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to get the government to listen for years, the first time I brought a demon to a local council meeting 10 years ago and nothing happened.
“I traveled to the offices of politicians and wrote letters and still nothing.”
A motion to slow down on the highway in the extreme northwest of the state failed last month but passed Thursday.
Councilman Mark Dabner filed a motion to slow down on the highway.
Six councilors voted in favor of the reduction, while three opposed: members will approach state government for approval, the abc informed.
Ms Wells said she supports the measure, but prefers the speed to be reduced to 65km/h from dusk to dawn to mitigate speeding at night.
“A lot of the community doesn’t care, unfortunately we have a lot of rednecks and roadkill is why.” [the devils] they come on the road to begin with and then have no chance of escaping the traffic.’
Ms Wells (pictured) said motorists reached speeds of 160 km/h along the roads of Woolnorth and West Montagu in the northwest of the state, while slow-moving devils feast on the dead bodies or just they cross the road.
She said motorists reached speeds of 100 mph along the highway while slow-moving devils feast on the carcasses or simply cross over to the other side (a Tasmanian devil in the road pictured).
She said motorists reached speeds of 100 mph while slow-moving demons feast on dead bodies or simply cross to the other side.
“It’s getting so heartbreaking and the reality is if we don’t stop this as soon as possible, we won’t have any demons left,” he said.
Mayor Blizzard said the council will continue to decrease the number of hit-and-runs in the area.
“The City Council has already invested heavily in a system of virtual fencing and security signage along these roads,” he said.
“And we continue to work with our community through the Circular Head Road Traffic Mitigation Task Force on other measures to protect our Tasmanian devils.”