General News
6 April, 2026
Major myna issue
RUMOURS of the demise of the Cairns Men’s Shed’s Indian myna bird trap have been snapped shut, with the pioneering home device still being made in steady numbers.
Club president Bob Lavington said on average, the shed sold about 12 a month, and both Cooktown and Cassowary shire councils bought them in lots of 10 and 20 at a time.
The project was “a good thing for the Shed” and its 166 members.
“Normally every month or six weeks we’ll make 18 or 19 of them, depending on how many we’ve sold,” he said.
“About 15 blokes will get out there and all have a job to do, some will be cutting out, others twisting the wires, hooking them together, some will be making the little traps where the birds walk in to the cage, and others make the sliding door, they all get out there together and socialise.
“And when we get new members in, this is an easy thing to do, because everyone can sit here and bend a bit of wire and they get to know the other members. And they’re helping the community to get rid of these damn pests.”
The bird trap was designed and built by Shed member Ron Moon in 2011 in response to the impact the registered feral species was having on native birds.
“He made it all up himself, there’d been a few attempts in Canberra, but they weren’t as good as this one, they were too small,” Mr Lavington said.
“(Former member for Leichhardt) Warren Entsch bought us the first two rolls of wire to get us started.” To date, 2432 traps have been sold at $80 each and the cage design and how-to-build specs have been put on a CD and sent to a few organisations across Australia.
The traps are in two sections, with trap door entries. As the birds move to the second cage to get water, they are then held in the “holding pen” to be euthanised.
Mr Lavington said some vets used to provide the service, otherwise there are quick and safe ways to do it. Each trap comes with a full set of instructions and tips.
There is another door on the top of the cage to ensure native birds or animals accidentally caught can be removed.
