Development of industrial estate threatens Regent honey-eater : Wildlife Extra News - Development could lead to extinction of rare Australian bird
The current state of the Australian environment is the worst it has been in years. Species under threat from developments, dredging of the Great Barrier Reef, culling sharks, etc. The prime minister even thinks that there are "too many" national parks in this country! Sad
I believe one or two zoos keep the species. Adelaide has kept them I know. Australia's careless behavior towards conservation really upsets me. And to make it worst, they hardly ever let any of their endangered species out of the country to be bred at other zoos so an international captive assurance population can't even be formed! If something doesn't change soon, we'll be seeing a lot more species going the way of the Thylacine and Christmas Island Pipistrelle. ~Thylo
Yes it has been bred in captivity and there is ( was ? ) a recovery programm. Lots of information on Google . This one may be of intrest : Regent Honeyeater Breeding Program | Taronga
There are close to 100 Regent Honeyeaters in at least 7 Australian Zoos. I think your comment about Australia's "careless behaviour" is way off (and I'm not talking about the American spelling!). While there are many issues with Australian conservation, it is better than that in at least 90% of other countries. And its conservation efforts in these 90% of countries that North American and European zoos should be helping. Insurance populations outside of Australia would require significant resources, a solid founder base, and regular imports from Australia to ensure the health of the new population. IMHO, such outside assistance from international zoos is a waste of conservation resources that would be better spent helping species in developing countries where there is little or no conservation action. I seriously doubt that any insurance populations of Australian (or NZ or American or European for that matter) endangered species kept overseas would be of any long-term use to their species. Australia's (and NZ's) policy of generally not exporting most native fauna is a good one I believe, and I see no problem with it. If you want to see Australian wildlife, visit Australia, you would see and learn a great deal more than seeing them in an American zoo, don't campaign for them to be sent to you!
Good to see that there's a decent number about in captivity. You make a good point. There are a lot more countries around the world who have worst conservation laws in place than Australia and many of these countries have highly endangered species that probably don't get all that much help from the international zoo community. That said, just because other countries are worst off, it doesn't mean there isn't a problem in Australia. Of course, there are problems with conservation laws in most countries including the U.S. so maybe it isn't fair to just point the finger at Oz, but again that doesn't mean there isn't a problem. Though being as you touched upon that in your response, you know that. ~Thylo
Not really Australia in general, just the conservative government and the mining/natural resource companies that are supported by them. In general, Australia has a pretty poor extinction record but in the present day many individuals and organisations are helping in conservation on their own accord (e.g. farmers donating their land for bilby release).
