By Chloe Henville

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt

Topic: Pesticides

Sunday, 19 July 2026, at 11:01 am

Zoe Kissane says the birds often eat at seed spills near farms.

In short:

A three-year study found high levels of pesticides in spilled grain in WA's Wheatbelt.

People are worried these chemicals may be causing paralysis in endangered Carnaby's black cockatoos.

What's next?

The researcher hopes the findings will make Australia rethink how pesticides are used and controlled.

High levels of pesticides were found in food sources of the endangered Carnaby's black cockatoo.

Zoe Kissane put GPS tags on wild black cockatoos in Western Australia's Wheatbelt and collected seed samples.

The samples were taken from farm areas and checked for chemical residue.

Zoe Kissane says the level of pesticides is 'alarming'.

'Chemical cocktail'

The study found the Carnaby's were exposed to 26 different pesticides when eating seeds near grain silos.

Ten different neurotoxins were found.

About 80 per cent of seed samples had at least one chemical, and at least half had three or more chemicals.

The birds are eating a 'chemical cocktail'.

Zoe Kissane's research aims to find the link between pesticides and a paralysis syndrome.

Some pesticide levels were 'well above' the allowed limits, sometimes hundreds of times higher.

That was quite alarming.

Paralysis questions

Since 2012, WA's black cockatoos have had a paralysis syndrome with neurological symptoms.

Researchers thought pesticides might be causing the disease.

The study was done in five areas of WA's Wheatbelt region.

Finding neurotoxins in food areas helps determine if there's a link to the syndrome.

The results show which pesticides might be causing the syndrome, giving new insight.

Using trackers showed how often the birds returned to the same grain spill.

It's alarming that birds keep going back to sites with chemical residues.

There's a higher risk of the birds being exposed to these substances for a long time.

Zoe Kissane and her supervisor tagged black cockatoos.

Regulations under spotlight

Zoe Kissane hopes the findings will make Australia reassess pesticide use and regulation.

While pesticides help farming, they can harm the environment.

Many pesticides used in Australia are restricted or banned in other countries due to health concerns.

The black cockatoo is an endangered species.

Simple changes can help the endangered Carnaby's.

Limiting access to spilled grain can help.

Stricter rules for grain trucks can also reduce exposure.

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt - local news

Sunday, 19 July 2026, at 11:01 am

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