Who are Gunns Limited?
GUNNS clear-cuts and then firebombs the equivalent of 44 football fields per day of some of the most unique and ancient old-growth forests on Earth. These include the majestic Eucalyptus regnans (the world’s tallest hardwood tree, soaring up to 90m) and areas with documented World Heritage value. GUNNS turns over 90% of the forests it destroys into woodchips that largely become disposable paper products.Now, GUNNS is poised to double its destruction of the forests with the construction of a pulp mill. The pulp mill, to be located at Bell Bay, would consume up to 4.5 million tons of woodchips annually. GUNNS presently exports around 4 million tons of woodchips each year. The construction of the mill would increase the clearfelling of Tasmania's native forests to supply enough trees to create roughly 8 million tons of woodchips each year.
What about the Animals?
GUNNS has killed hundreds of thousands of native mammals using carrots poisoned with Compound 1080, a lethal super-toxin listed as a biological weapon by both the Canadian and US governments. GUNNS CEO John Gay has publicly stated that it is okay that his company kills protected species because “there’s too many of them†Protected animals routinely killed by GUNNS include Tasmanian wombats and ring-tailed possums.
GUNNS uses 1080 poison to kill any animals that browse on the seedlings established in place of the cleared forests. With the recent ending of 1080 poisoning on public land, GUNNS has become the biggest single user of 1080 poison in Tasmania. Furthermore, habitat for Tasmania’s wildlife is permanently destroyed when old growth forests are replaced by short-rotation tree-crops.
