Our Wildlife Is not Safe in the Bush. The Rush to Relevance of Captive Breeding: Unfinished Draft

The protection of our nation’s flora and fauna is in a desperate state. Numerous recent media items combine to paint a chilling picture in all regions of Australia. Despite the best efforts of Government and private conservation agencies, the situation with our wildlife could not be much worse – as the boxed news clip above testifies.
Of all that has been said and written on the topic of wildlife conservation in Australia, there is one potent opportunity that has been ignored. This opportunity is captive breeding in the private sector. In Australia today there resides an army of enthusiastic and knowledgeable Wildlife Keepers who are keen to keep and breed a wide range of Australia’s native birds, mammals, reptiles, frogs and fishes. This army (estimated to be near 70,000 people) is becoming restless
due to the regulatory strangulation of the various State and Territory Government conservation agencies which preside over this sector with an iron fist. There seems to be a universal bureaucratic distaste for the prospect that breeding native animals may become a ‘commercial’ activity for some individuals. And yet, even as the aspirations of these people’s desires are frustrated by red tape and outdated laws and policies, wildlife conservation at the Government
level in Australia is in serious trouble.