“We certainly don’t promote that [stomping] sort of method of euthanising the birds but we do promote the eradication of Indian mynas because they are a pest species on the Mornington Peninsula,” Mr Nigro said. “Stomping on them and creating havoc with that method is abhorrent to us.”

It’s an issue that’s clearly important to local residents. When Mr Nigro held an information session about myna trapping a few years ago he expected 20 people to attend. More than 100 showed up and he had to turn others away because the car park was full.

“It’s not the animals’ fault that they’re here, it’s our fault because they were introduced and so it becomes our problem,” he said. “We only cull them for the benefit of our existing Indigenous wildlife.”

Mynas are way down the list of threats to Australian birds. According to Mr Dooley, habitat clearing and habitat disturbance by humans is the biggest threat to native bird species, followed by climate-fuelled droughts and bushfires. And although invasive species are a major problem, feral cats are far more damaging to native birdlife than mynas.

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“The amount of clearing on the peninsula is having a far more damaging effect than common mynas,” he said.

The myna was introduced from India to Melbourne in the 1860s to address insect infestations in the city’s market gardens, and were also taken to Queensland at the turn of the last century to deal, unsuccessfully as it turns out, with cane beetles.

Because of this failure cane toads were introduced to Queensland 30 years later to address the cane beetle problem. This was also unsuccessful, and their introduction has had a devastating impact on Australia’s biodiversity.

Until the 1930s mynas were confined to areas near Melbourne but have expanded their range considerably. They live in urban, industrial and semiurban areas where they can scavenge on leftover human food and rubbish.

“They’re a symptom of our wastefulness – they thrive because we leave too much food out for them,” said Mr Dooley.

Mynas are listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of the 100 most invasive species in the world.

Birdlife Australia doesn’t support cruelty or inhuman treatment to any bird but acknowledges there are times when it is necessary to have programs that remove and kill birds.

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