Vandal attacked tree in Australia

A vandal attacked a tree in Australia designated by indigenous people SST a "birthing tree". They are fighting a plan to eliminate that tree to build a road which motorists consider necessary.

In my view, the religious feelings and wishes of indigenous people should get the same level of consideration as the religious feelings and wishes of any other people, but not more. Regardless of which group, such feelings do not outweigh everything else in life.

To treat something as "sacred", and extremely protected, simply because some sect calls it so is excessive. We would not be shocked if some neighborhood church, mosque, synagogue, temple or shrine — or tree — were taken by eminent domain if the purpose is sufficient. On the other hand, if the religious object is rare and unusual, or specially old, that would be a stronger reason to preserve it — by rerouting the road, in this case.

Some information crucial for evaluating this case is not present in the article. For instance, how many birthing trees are there per square mile in that region? On the average, how long have they had the status of birthing trees? And how long has that particular tree enjoyed that status?

If there are many birthing trees, preserving them all is an unreasonable demand. If they are few, preserving them is not much to ask, and surely feasible to do.

If that tree has been a birthing tree for 200 years, that makes it rather special, which is a good reason to protect it. But if it was designated 10 years ago, it is reasonable to respond, "Pick another tree."