AMATEUR COLLECTORS AND ENTHUSIASTS

The keeping and breeding of birds and animals has long been a popular activity in Australia and around the world. The keeping and breeding of Australian native species, particularly species of native bird, have also been pursued by many enthusiasts. There appears to be growing interest in other native species - reptiles, amphibians and mammals. The World Wildlife Fund has reported that, worldwide, 350 million animals and plants are bought and sold internationally. Among these are more than five million wild birds.⁵⁵

As indicated in the previous section, a number of native birds, amphibians and reptiles do not require a licence to be kept in captivity. A wider range of species can be kept if the appropriate licence (under the Wildlife Act 1975) is obtained - it is these more restricted species that are of most interest to the collector and enthusiast. Invertebrates, including a wide array of insects, may be kept without permit unless they are a defined rare or threatened species.

Schedules to the Wildlife Regulations 1992 list those species that may be kept by private persons. Additional species may, from time to time, be added to these schedules of permitted species, generally on the advice of the Wildlife Possession, Trade and Advisory Committee. The scheduled animals are those that are mostly available from captive-bred sources and meet criteria established by the `National Consultative Committee on Animal Welfare' and the Victorian `Wildlife Possession Trade and Advisory Committee'.⁵⁶

It is required by law that all native animals kept by private collectors must be captive-bred and, apart from a limited number of very common species, can only be purchased from other appropriately licensed collectors or licensed commercial dealers. The Committee understands that there is, however, an illegal trade in Victoria - although, where birds are concerned, the stocks of licensed aviarists are often the target rather than wild sources. A significant portion the international animal trade is thought to be illegal.⁵⁷

`Genetic fingerprinting' is a technique whereby the unique genetic code of an animal is identified.<sup>58</sup> It allows the offspring of native species bred in captivity to be tracked and those not derived from `fingerprinted' animals to be identified. Its use is increasing as costs fall.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals - Victoria (RSPCA) expressed reservation about the keeping of native animals at all. It believes that native animals should be maintained in their natural environments and not in captivity, unless such captivity is of proven benefit to the species concerned.⁵⁹

At the same time, amateur collectors often have considerable skill, and they may be a reservoir of valuable expertise in care and conservation of some species.⁶⁰

Aviculture

The keeping and breeding of native birds (and non-native birds) is a popular activity in Victoria - providing enjoyment to a large number of people.

The Victorian Aviculture Council, the representative peak body for aviculture in Victoria, represents several thousand bird breeders. It is affiliated with 23 other aviculture organisations, at least one of which has a membership of over 2,000 in its own right. ⁶¹ Most aviarists are members of an aviary club.

Of Victoria's 7,509 private wildlife licences (Categories 1, 2 and 3, as at 23 November 1998), the great majority are held by amateur bird enthusiasts.⁶² Only a smaller number of aviculturists are commercial operators.

Popular species kept include cockatoos, budgerigars, quails, parrots and finches. As detailed in Table 6.4, 24 native-bird species can be kept in Victoria without a licence and some 209 species of bird may be kept by holders of a licence.

Table 6.4 Native birds that may be kept by holders of a private wildlife licence

Grouping	Number of species
Quail	8 (one other species can be kept without a licence)
Doves and pigeons	19 (two others can be kept without a licence)
Ducks, geese and swans	20
Parrots and lorikeets	25
Rosellas (Platycerus spp.)	All, except the western rosella (Platycerus icterotis), that is 7
Finches, pardalotes, chats, mannikins, lapwings and firetails	15 (seven other species can be kept without a licence)
Honeyeaters and wattlebirds	3
Magpies and kookaburras	2
Cockatoos and cockatiels	5 (four other species can be kept without a licence)
Fairy wrens	4
Budgerigars	(Can be kept without a licence)
Emus	1

Source: Derived from the Schedules to the Wildlife Regulations 1992.

In Victoria, most aviculturists who hold `private wildlife licences' are involved in bird breeding.⁶³ Most also trade birds, to acquire new species and specimens and to sell surplus birds. They use these sales to recover some of their costs. The breeding of rare or hard-to-breed species is a challenge taken up by some of the more experienced enthusiasts.

The Committee had the opportunity to visit the aviaries of a leading aviculturist in the Latrobe Valley - Mr Chris Hunt. Mr Hunt keeps 14 different species of cockatoos and parrots. As with most aviculturists, Mr Hunt keeps his birds in large aviaries, each divided into smaller cages of variable size according to the species' needs. The establishment of an aviary is expensive and proper maintenance and care requires a significant commitment of time and resources.

Birds are sold to other aviculturists and to pet shops. Aviary clubs produce lists of species available from members and provide a guide to current prices. At present, prices of birds are tending to fall. Most birds in Australian aviaries have been bred in captivity. While wild capture is allowed under permit in some States and the Northern Territory, wild-captured stock is not considered well suited to aviaries.⁶⁴

Sector Issues and Challenges

Noisy birds are an issue for neighbours in the near vicinity of aviaries. Theft is a large problem for aviculturists. Inconsistency of regulations between States and the need for import/export licences when birds are taken across State borders are issues of concern. Some aviculturists consider that the current minimum space guidelines for each species are too low and they want improved methods to ensure that all birds are kept under humane conditions.⁶⁵

The Victorian Avicultural Council suggested, in its submission to the Inquiry, that the ranching of pest species of cockatoo "by the taking of eggs from the wild and hand raising the chicks" would be "a plausible and cost effective practice which would reduce the demand for smuggled cockatoos". The Council has a policy of supporting the humane and government-monitored export of captive-bred wildlife species, "provided that such export does not adversely affect the captive and/or wild populations in Australia". It suggested that such export trade "may provide employment and export dollars, whilst alleviating the illicit trade in these species". ⁶⁶ The RSPCA had a contrary view. It considers that the taking of "native birds from the wild to sell as pets is cruel and is accompanied by a huge and unacceptable death rate."⁶⁷ Birds Australia was concerned that legal trade could be used as a cover for illegal trade in birds.⁶⁸

Reptiles

There are approximately 500 Victorian members of the Victorian Herpetological Society and a larger number of unaffiliated, licensed reptile hobbyists in Victoria.⁶⁹

Private reptile enthusiasts may trade their animals within Victoria and elsewhere in Australia. Some species of captive-bred reptiles may fetch quite high prices. For instance, in Victoria captive-bred black-headed pythons, woma pythons and diamond pythons sell for about $3,000 each.⁷⁰

Over 120 species of reptile may be kept in Victoria. Most, but not all, of these are also found in the wild in Victoria. As noted in Table 6.5, while a number of species can be kept without a licence, most require the keeper to be licensed under the Wildlife Act 1975. The Committee notes that a number of species of venomous snake could be kept in Victoria by private collectors.

Table 6.5 Native reptiles that may be kept by holders of a private wildlife licence

Grouping	Number of species and notes
Crocodiles	2, neither native to Victoria
Tortoises and turtles	6 (2 other species can be kept without a licence)
Geckos	19 (1 other species can be kept without a licence)
Dragons	18
Skinks	26 (2 other species can be kept without a licence)
Legless and frilled lizards	6
Monitors and goannas	9
Blue-tongued and stumpy-tailed lizards	Nil, but 3 species can be kept without licence
Pythons	9
Death adders	3, all venomous
Snakes	25, including venomous species

Source: The Schedules to the Wildlife Regulations 1992.

While the Victorian Herpetological Society noted in its submission that the current Victorian system of licensing was satisfactory, it considered that it could be made more efficient. It went on to state that people interested in keeping native wildlife are put off by:

The many and varied types of licensing, ... the cost of some licences, ... the often unnecessary paperwork ... and the knowledge that there is a certain component of the enforcement staff that may be regarded as over zealous.

It also indicated that consistency of regulations between States and with the Federal Government is an issue that their members would like to see addressed.

While not actively seeking access to reptiles from the wild, the Society stated that it would support proposals for such collection as long as this was done in an appropriate manner and "did not jeopardise naturally occurring wild populations".⁷¹

Amphibians

The Committee was not able to obtain information on the nature and extent of amphibian keeping by enthusiasts. It would seem to be an active, but small, sector.

Five common species of Victorian frog can be kept without a licence; an additional 20 species can be kept with a licence under the Wildlife Act 1975. Of the latter species, seven are not found in the wild in Victoria.

Mammals

A number of specified native mammals may be kept, bred and sold in Victoria. The liberalising of wildlife regulations in 1992 fostered interest in the keeping of marsupials in this State; an increasing number of individuals now keep and breed marsupials in captivity. In 1995, an organisation was established to cater for their interests - the Marsupial Society of Victoria. This Society promotes the study and conservation of the wild population, captive breeding of marsupials, and disseminating information.⁷² It currently has 60 members from both urban and country areas. The members keep a range of species, especially possums, sugar gliders and small wallabies.

Private enthusiasts require a licence, under the Wildlife Act 1975, to keep and breed such mammals. These licences also permit licence-holders to sell animals privately, but only to other licence-holders.

Currently some 19 species may be kept in captivity in Victoria. These are listed in Table 6.6. Not all of these species occur in the wild in Victoria, although all are at least relatively common in one or more States of Australia. Holders of private wildlife licences are not permitted to collect or release animals into the wild or cross-breed animals of different species.

Table 6.6 Native mammal species that may be kept

Species	Notes on wild status
Fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata)
Kowari (Dasyuroides byrnei)	Not found in the wild in Victoria
Wombat (Vombatus ursinus)
Common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
Sugar glider (Petaurus breviceps)
Common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus)
Rufous bettong (Aepyprymnus rufescens)	Not present in the wild in Victoria since 1900, but occurs elsewhere
Tasmanian bettong (Bettongia gaimardi)	Not present in the wild in Victoria since 1900, but occurs elsewhere
Western grey kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus)
Kangaroo Island kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)	Not found in the wild in Victoria
Eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus)
Common wallaroo (euro) (Macropus robustus)	Only a subspecies, the eEastern wallaroo (Macropus robustus robustus,) is found in the wild in Victoria
Red-necked wallaby (Macropus rufogriseus)
Red kangaroo (Macropus rufus)
Tammar wallaby (Macropus eugenii)	Not found in the wild in Victoria
Tasmanian pademelon (Thylogale billardierii)	Not present in the wild in Victoria since 1930, but occurs elsewhere
Red-necked pademelon (Thylogale thetis)
Red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) 0	Not found in the wild in Victoria
Swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor)
Mitchell's hopping mouse (Notomys mitchelli)

Source: Derived from the Schedules to the Wildlife Regulations 1992 and the book Mammals of Victoria (Menkhorst ed. 1996).⁷³

The Marsupial Society of Victoria has proposed that the keeping of some additional species be permitted in Victoria, especially those that are already captive bred.⁷⁴ The Society noted that: "captive bred animals which are in excess at Royal Melbourne Zoo and Healesville Sanctuary ... are constantly being sent to interstate hobbyists or euthanased".