A Queensland vet has lamented having to put down an emaciated cassowary because of a departmental policy that bans adult birds from the state's only rehabilitation centre.
Dr Graham Lauridsen was called to an old dairy farm on the Atherton Tablelands this week after reports of a bird that had wandered far from its usual habitat.
The female, estimated to be about four years old, was too weak to even respond to people and was sedated for further assessment.
Dr Lauridsen said she exhibited no abnormalities other than being starved for up to two months.
But he was advised to euthanase the bird because his preferred solution, the Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre at Mission Beach, about two hours away, is only open to chicks.
The facility has most recently been run by the not-for-profit group Rainforest Rescue, that has signalled it can no longer continue.
This month, it received interim funding of $50,000 to stay open for another three months as the government searches for another partner.
But Dr Lauridsen says that's not the answer.
"It works best when the government is in charge of it," he told AAP.
"The government's rangers are the only people who are skilled in cassowary rehabilitation, release, sedation and handling.
"I just don't understand why they would go down the path again of trying to do something that's failed twice."
The cassowary is listed as endangered under national legislation.
In his case report, Dr Lauridsen estimated the bird could have been released in a few weeks time after being rehabilitated at Mission Beach, as has been done in the past during the facility's 14-year history.
The Department of Environment has been contacted for comment.
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