native animals as pets

Previously published on the PressTV YouTube channel Dozens of locals followed the unlikely pet walk to the beach where they gathered round to take photos with the felines. The owner had purchased the two infant lions from a run-down zoo in Gaza at the start of the year. The cat-loving family has been raising the cubs in a three-room apartment with their four children. But what will happen when the cubs grow up? Your comments invited.

Editor's comment: The following three comments were posted YouTube in reponse to the above video:

#10;<p style=" line-height:120="">"Liked" for others to view. Let's hope someone acts and rescues these poor creatures.- offwithtefairies

#10;</blockquote>&#10;<p style=" line-height:120="">Your own opinions about the content of this video are welcome. Please post your own views in the comment form below. - Ed

Your own opinions about the content of this video are welcome. Please your own views in the comment form below.

Authorities are bracing in northern Australia for an influx of protesters representing Gouldian finch societies and breeders throughout the globe. Police fear a repeat of last years bloodbath when Mitchell hopping mouse advocates protested against further degradation of the marsupials habitat in South Australia.

Lovers of the popular aviary finch are incensed at the inaction of Australian governments in protecting what little habitat remains for the endangered bird. Gouldian finch societies from Australia, the USA, South Africa and many European countries have banded together to raise awareness of the damage that pastoral activities and modern fire regimes are doing to the birds habitat.

Australian Gouldian Finch Society spokesperson Terry Anderson has made an emotional plee to the Australian public to help fight for the remaining Gouldian finch habitat:

“There are only 2500 of these beautiful birds left in the wild…. All Australians have a responsibility to prevent this species from becoming extinct in its natural environment and we are here to remind them of that responsibility”

Police in Katherine, NT are expecting hundreds of protestors and are expected to use a zero tolerance policy after similar protests in South Australia last year resulted in 15 arrests and several police officers injured. Sgt Mackey of NT police states:

“Whilst the 2009 confrontations with South Australian police were instigated by breeders and owners of Mitchell’s hopping mice fighting for habitat protection… we must anticipate that the Gouldian Finch people are capable of the same emotionally driven violence that have made the hopping mouse advocates a household name”

Wildlife advocacy groups and other critics of Gouldian finch breeders claim that dwindling finch numbers are due in no small part to the aviary trade and poaching continues to be a problem as demand for the finch increases. Furthermore they claim that breeding of the finch involves colour and behaviour selection that does not mimic wild Gouldian finch populations. Terry Anderson refutes these claims:

“They’re just nit picking. If the Gouldian becomes extinct in the wild, we are the ones they will come running to”

Outspoken supporter of keeping native animals as pets Prof Mike Archer was (unusually) unavailable for comment.

Corellas are one of the most visible birds in many Australian cities, any proposal to cull their numbers inevitably causes some controversy. Like humans, they may be recent inhabitants of an area but are they occupying an environmental niche that we created ?

Recently an article published by the Wimmera Mail-Times regarding a proposed corella cull caught my attention. It’s not unusual for this subject to come up in just about any state in Australia as corellas seem to be popping up everywhere, don’t they? The article consists mainly of rhetoric coming from Horsham Councillor Gary Bird (yes that is his real name) and Cr Bernard Gross. Cr Bird calls for gun laws to be relaxed and field and game shooters to be allowed to join in a corella cull though he doesn’t want to paint a picture of the ol’ wild west. Cr Gross isn’t as shy about the wild west theme, it would seem that “shoot outs” were used to keep numbers down when he was a boy. Along with damaging property and the environment, corellas are also accused of predating on other birds by Horsham Mayor Michael Ryan. To add fuel to the fire, it seems these corellas aren’t from these parts anyway….. they’re from out west, Western Australia to be precise.

These corellas aren't from these parts!

Longbill showing off his assets

So who are these pesky, carnivorous, white-feathered invaders anyway? They appear to be little corellas, a species that appears to originate from the arid and semi-arid regions of inland Australia. Much like kangaroos, their original range before white settlement is subject to debate. Some say that little corellas are expanding coastward in many parts of Australia, others that aviary releases are increasing their range. I would suggest however that the little corellas found in Horsham, Victoria originate from somewhere a lot closer than Western Australia. I would also suggest that the mayor of Horsham check his facts regarding their carnivorous nature. Perhaps he is getting confused with the corellas tendency to compete with other birds over nesting sites. The statements made about the little corella in Horsham however, could be classified as restrained in comparison to the propaganda coming out of Old Noarlunga, South Australia in 2008. A suggestion is made that the birds may have escaped from aviaries, its origin (via DNA testing) could possibly trace it back to the Philipines. The little corella seems to be getting further and further from “home” all the time.

Which corella?

The corella issue crops up commonly in urban areas such as the proposed cull in Busselton, Western Australia as pointed out by RichB In WA the term “corella” gets used very loosely by local government to describe any white parrot they deem to be a nuisance. The corella species that inhabit Perth currently are not endemic to the area as many pro-culling residents are quick to point out, though there appears to be the occasional sighting of Butler corellas (the northern subspecies of the western longbill corella). What is not so commonly known is that the endangered Muir’s corella (another subspecies of western longbill corella) were originally found in the Perth area. Unfortunately they disappeared over 100 years ago and can now only be found in a small area deep in the southwest of WA. Loss of habitat, shooting and poisoning appear to be the main reason for their demise in the Perth area and other south west regions (including Busselton). As yet I have not heard any mention of a possible re-introduction of Muir’s corellas in Perth to accompany the eradication of the little corella and (eastern) longbill corella. Given that the Muir corella is larger than both of the introduced species and displays very similar behaviour ie. Active, noisy and conspicuous, I wonder how well received this bird would be.

Culling for convenience

Enjoying a few drinks, this time they left the garden hose alone

Attempts to demonise a bird species by claiming it’s not endemic to the area often occurs during proposed culls particularly in urban areas. In Perth there have been claims that Australian ravens are not endemic to our coastal strip by those campaigning for culling. The Perth suburb of Mosman Park however needed no such justification to get government approval for their own raven cull In this case the persistence of several vocal ratepayers in Mosman Park appeared to be reason enough to go ahead with the cull. Other wildlife culls proceed as a matter of routine such as the annual killing of endemic wood ducks at Burswood Casino Golf Course. . In this case Burswood management deemed (as they do every year) that the resident wood duck population was too large…. This is a similar argument used by those requesting kangaroo culls in urban areas such as the proposed cull at Preston Beach Golf Club

Where have the natural predators gone?

Corellas are killed in their thousands in agricultural areas, obviously these culls don’t attract the same sort of attention as those in the city. A natural way of keeping corella numbers down is via the predation by raptors such as the peregrine falcon and the wedge tailed eagle. Unfortunately these birds have also been blasted out of the sky, poisoned directly or indirectly or have lost most of their habitat due to land clearing, the wedge tailed eagle is still listed as an agricultural pest in Western Australia to this day. Understandably there are those who question whether humans will ever evolve beyond the “go for the gun” mentality in attempting to control or improve our environment. It does seem however that using raptors to scare away corellas is becoming more popular, I know of a landowner who periodically uses (captive) goshawks for this purpose.

Role of the pet industry and the FATE program

No corella discussion would be complete without mention of the pet industry’s contribution to the current range of corella species. It is widely accepted that the presence of little corellas and (in most cases) long billed corellas in our major cities is due to aviary releases / escapes. If we are trying to manage these bird populations why is it that any individual (in WA at least) can walk into a pet store and buy one of these birds? In WA you can own up to 10 corellas without having a permit. There is some control attempted at the local government level but this message is lost amongst the chit-chat captive corellas engage us with in pet stores. In WA rainbow lorikeets are freely available as pets even as this introduced bird (by aviary release/escape) begins to penetrate the jarrah forests in Perth’s hills in direct competition with endemic birds such as the red capped and twenty eight parrot. Incidentally, endemic birds are also available at bird shops whether they are listed as agricultural pests or endangered (or both) It is very disturbing to find birds such as endangered black cockatoos in specialist bird shops with price tags going into tens of thousands of dollars. Whilst these birds may have been hand reared and are therefore not releasable into the wild, there is no doubt the prices commanded by these rare birds surely promotes illegal activity in the bird trade to maintain supply. Professor Mike Archer’s Future of Australia’s Threatened Ecosystems (FATE) program is promoting the use of native animals as pets, one only has to look at the pet bird industry to appreciate the potential damage this practice can inflict both environmentally and on the species involved. Placing a value on a native species tantamount to its decline in wild populations particularly if that value is high. Inevitably, a commercially valued species is subject to illegal activities. The collecting of eggs from species such as the peregrine falcon, wedge tailed eagle and Muir’s corella are testament to this.

I can hear that collective intake of breath from wildlife warriors and carers all over Australia. Possums as pets? Wildlife as pets! Isn't it bad enough that humans mistreat dogs and cats, without encouraging them to imprison and malnourish possums and other wildlife? See also: "Living with humans - A possum responds to "Living with wild animals" article" and earlier episodes of Gloria O'Possum's adventures.

Breakfast at 6pm, delivered to my door by a friendly and tolerant human. Note that I can leave and enter the house anytime and I forage for my own food and sometimes sleep elsewhere. I am a free but friendly spirit.

Settle, gumnuts!

I wasn't talking about keeping us all locked up.

No. I was talking about sharing shelter - as I do with my giant human -.
I meant not locking us out of the Great Indoors which you humans have converted our forests into. I was talking about time-sharing possum boxes with the local population, hanging out together in the garden, growing native trees to attract us to your backyard, going on bushwalks together, singing at the moon together, playing with baby possums together and interacting with adults on a free and equal basis.

Baby possum and human interacting

Free to come and go, human and possum. I wasn't talking about locking us up, feeding us tinned 'possum-food' and 'science-diets', or taking us for a walk on a leash (Great Possum no!). I was talking about living and letting live and making friends.

Intolerance of different species is rife amongst Australians. Although the government preaches multiculturalism, possums and other wildlife are displaced and persecuted - even killed - by humans. Do humans really prefer dogs and cats to possums, quolls, devils and roos, or is it just because they have been discouraged from making a connection with Australian wildlife?

A lot of wildlife carers think that the government really wants to get rid of all of us native animals. The government is very unfriendly, calling us pests and taking away our natural habitat. A recent treasurer of Australia, Peter Costello, said that he wanted to get rid of all of us! What a horrible remark! He should have been locked up for hate crimes as well as for promoting greed and human overpopulation.

A lot of humans think it is illegal to keep Australian wildlife. Well, it IS illegal to lock some of us up without a license and, so it should be. The same applies to locking up humans - you also need a license. But it isn't illegal to interact with us and let us live on 'your' property. No policeman is going to come along and tell you that you mustn't address possums on your back fence, or feed them gum-flowers, or have them come in and out of your bedroom window and sleep in a possum box on the dresser. No policeman is going to come along and tell you that you may not encourage a long-necked turtle to live in your swimming pool or fish pond either, although you need to conform to certain specifications if you purchase a long-necked turtle.

You know who will try to tell you not to be friends with us? Your dog or your cat. They will try to kill us. These animals have been taken from their natural homes and they have brought a culture here that is anti-possum, just like many human settlers who were not born here or who grew up in a possum-less high-rise, or who have been so indoctrinated with Beatrix Potter animal stories that they are rabbit, dog and cat mad.

Okay, you love your dog and cat. But, when they die, please think about us possums and the rest of the indigenous animals. Don't get another dog or cat. As well as being naturally cute and funky, natural tightrope walkers and roof-dancers, we are so much more convenient. You don't have to desex us, you don't have to register us, you don't have to keep us inside all night or walk us on a leash. We are free to come and go - except where we are falsely persecuted in public places and by intolerant householders.

One of a tribe of possums at Catani gardens, St Kilda, harassed by the Council, falsely and persistently accused of spreading Fusarium wilt

Yes, a possum-human relationship can be an equal partnership. What's more, you can follow us into our world. Imagine, children, tree-climbing with friendly possums. The poor dog or cat - at best tolerated as immigrants - have no real citizenship. They are not allowed out and about without a human in tow. But the possum, the kangaroo, the long-necked turtle, the quoll - we are free as birds - or we would be - if there were not so many dogs, cats, and wildlife-phobic politicians out there.

Let's clear up this misunderstanding now.
You can buy possum-boxes at your local petshop. What's stopping you?