Usually, I'd recommend emailing the zoo for clarification but I doubt they'd be forthcoming with info. Maybe somebody could ask a keeper next time they're at Taronga, they're usually more helpful.
There seems to be a belief in the Zoochatter Australian community that the ZAA, studbook keepers or others make a decision as to what happens with animals and zoos meekly follow orders. Nothing is further from the truth. In cases like the condors the birds would only have been moved if Taronga had decided they were surplus to their requirements and Adelaide had indicated they wanted to hold this species. If the Adelaide birds were from Taronga it is most likely that the transfers would have been arranged between the two zoos without the involvement of a third party. There are a number of managed programs where recommendations for moves are made on genetic grounds, however every zoo involved has to sign off on the recommendations before they are implemented. Even in managed programs it is most unlikely that a coordinator would seek to move animals a zoo indicated it wished to retain. There are a couple of high profile conservation programs where much greater control is exercised by the species coordinator but as I say there are only a handful of these.
I have been provided with dates for the Andean Condors. There is one major correction to be made, some minor amendments, and a bunch of confirmations. First, the original breeding pair wasn't the pair imported from Europe in 1935. I don't know what happened to those birds (they were definitely at the zoo because there are numerous accounts of them in newspapers of the time). Instead the pair which produced Bruce and Connie were imported direct from South America in 1947 (wild caught). The import ban on birds came into effect in 1949, so it was reasonably close. Bruce and Connie, contrary to everything I have read saying he is older than her, actually have the same hatch dates in their records (17 September 1979). Of the other living birds in Australia (all bred from Bruce and Connie), female Leslie was hatched November 2003, male Chief/Inti in November 2006, and female Konira in November 2011. And finally, the Adelaide birds were indeed the original breeding pair from Taronga. They were sent to Adelaide in 1988.
Great info, thanks Chlidonias. Would be good to know what happened to the original pair though. Did you find any information on any other imports, or do you think there have only ever been the two Taronga pairs imported?
you mean what happened to the 1935 pair? I would like to know that too. As said earlier, in 1898 I know Melbourne had a pair and a zoo in Albany had a single bird. Otherwise I don't know of any others. Old newspapers online have their limitations. There was an article from 1948 of condors being imported to Taronga from South Africa but I think that has to refer to some sort of African vultures. And there are a number of old articles mentioning condors which are actually King Vultures. EDIT: actually the 1948 article said the animals were from South Africa and South America, and also included armadillos, giant anteaters, pumas, jaguars and other neotropical species. It is possible the 1948 articles (there are quite a number, all the same, in different papers) are a rehash of the 1947 import because I often find older stories presented as new ones in the old newspapers. Or the 1947 date may be in error for 1948.
Would that be a mistake in their records? I thought condors laid a single egg, but could double clutch if the first egg was removed to produce two eggs in a breeding season? Even if they hatched the same year, wouldn't there be at least a few weeks between the hatch dates?
According to the government website other species of birds are allowed to be imported, not just the the birds Zooboy28 listed above. Here is the link: List of Specimens Taken to be Suitable for Live Import (29/11/2001)
It's legal to import budgerigars to Australia. I think I might start using that in place of "carrying coals to Newcastle."
Firstly, the list you posted has been superceded. Here is the current list: List of Specimens Taken to be Suitable for Live Import (29/11/2001) Secondly, those birds can be imported under EPBC Act, which that document is an instrument of. You would also need an import permit from the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources, and currently Australian residents and businesses can only import live pigeons, or hatching duck, chicken and turkey eggs. Hix
These are the species that can be imported without a liscence. Mallard Duck (Anas platyrhynchos) Greylag Goose (Anser anser) Muscovy Duck (Cairina moschata) Domestic Pigeon (Columba livia) Common Quail (Coturnix coturnix) Domestic Chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) Domestic Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) So therefore it is not just limited to live pigeons and hatching duck, chicken and turkey eggs.
As I said - those can be imported without an EPBC permit. But you need a Department of Agriculture (i.e. Quarantine) Import Permit to import any live animal, and those are only issued for pigeons and hatching eggs of ducks, geese and turkeys. Hix
Budgies were imported so fanciers could get hold of the larger budgies being bred in Europe. Both these would be the domesticated breeds of these species. You will note that all the species on that list are for agricultural production. The exception being the pigeon - the racing pigeon people have lots of political pull.
I've always thought this is an odd one. How is it that the pigeon fanciers have so much pull? There are far more private aviarists out there - why is that they are not able to add spp to the import list? As you mentioned budgie fanciers achieved it. Too many spp are hanging on in Aust which could do with a healthy input of fresh genetic material. Is it a case of not agreeing to the same spp? I appreciate the need for control and quarantine, but I don't understand the lack the reasoning of why some spp make it and others don't. Afterall domestics are the main cause/spread of avian diseases. Just how much pull do zoos have now (are they still trying)? Obviously zoos are a little rarer then pigeon fanciers. I recall from the past a very small list of exotics that were on the hit list of the then-ARAZPA, included sharmas, a hornbill or toucan spp, flamingoes, possibly some parrots. Is this still on the cards, a (even remote) possibility or just pie-in-the-sky? Sorry M for the questions, but obviously you are still in the zoo business even if you concentrate on the natives! Too used to seeing how easy UK zoos have it.
The list posted by animal_expert01 (and the up-to-date one posted by myself) list another 41 species of birds permitted under the Environment Protection & Biodiversity Control Act (EPBC) with a permit; the species listed in the posts above were the few that could come in without a permit under that legislation. The species permitted with a permit are almost all parrots, many of them Australian species. However, you also need a Department of Agriculture import permit to import any live animals, and they currently allow only the pigeons (and eggs). The pigeons are quarantined for weeks prior to export, and are then quarantined on arrival for several weeks, a very expensive process. If one bird shows signs of a quarantinable disease (like Newcastle's or Avian influenza) then every bird in the facility is euthanased. A similar situation exists for eggs, which are hatched in quarantine and spend about nine weeks there before being released. In the 90's a facility to quarantine imported birds was built at Spotswood outside Melbourne. That's when ARAZPA would have been interested in what it could bring in. However, it was easier and quicker for the private fanciers to get stock, have it under quarantine pre-export and then shipped over. Spotswood allowed only one consignment at a time, whether it be a pair of birds or 1,000 birds. The pigeon people got in first, the second shipment was of budgies. Somewhere down the track, before the zoos/ARAZPA could import, a shipment was euthanased due to disease and the imports stopped. To date, there hasn't been another shipment of birds (except pigeons and eggs). Hix
Apparently, there are also Crimson Horned Pheasnt in Australia, or at least as of 2014. Or have they all passed away? AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™ • View topic - Tragopan satyra (Crimson Horned Pheasant)
Basically someone's asks if they are still in Australia, then a bunch of people say no. Then a guy says that one person has them and to check out his gallery. Then there is three pages lf people ooohhhing and ahhhhing at how beautiful the birds are. I have just joined the forum and will tried and find the guy who has them and get more information.
I checked out the website of the operation that is meant to have them, a breeder operating under the business name "Peacocks Australia". While they have an impressive list of pheasants (for Australia) the tragopan is not listed.
