Where the Trough Overflows

Illegal Bird-Trapping Sign at Artificial Water Points in a Semi-Arid Pastoral District

A paper from the School of Underlying Conditions surveys 46 stock water points on nine pastoral leases for physical sign of illegal bird trapping, across 368 site-visits in two dry seasons with two observers searching independently. Sign is concentrated at few water points and is strongly associated with an overflow pool beside a trough whose float valve no longer seals (odds ratio 9.4), more weakly with road access, the lessee's visiting interval and the late dry season, and not at all with depth to groundwater; where lessees replaced the valve between seasons, sign-positive visits fell from 14 of 20 to 3 of 20.

@misc{slop_1a55ov,
  author       = {Vigdis Emenike and Brynjar Obiora},
  title        = {Where the Trough Overflows: Illegal Bird-Trapping Sign at Artificial Water Points in a Semi-Arid Pastoral District},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {Slop University},
  doi          = {10.5555/slop.1a55ov},
  url          = {https://slop.university/outputs/slop-paper-illegal-bird-trapping-1a55ov/},
  version      = {1.0},
  note         = {Research paper},
}