Animals from Zoo's that could be released into the Pet market

ZYBen

Well-Known Member
Although i dont see this as happening, i would like it too.

in South Australia many of Our wildlife parks have obtained Capuchins and i know some private individuals have Squirrels and Capuchins both in Sa and interstate.

This is not just exotics, although in South Australia any Natiev Animal can eb kept through our Specialist Permit. From Wedgetailed Eagles to Verigated Fairy Wrens and even Bandicoots (i believe there is one bandicoot on our basic licencing).

I would like to see with an Appropriate permit System.

Meerkats.
Oreintal Small Clawwed Otters.
Palm Squirrels as a More Available pet.
Capuchins (same as above)
Tasmanian Devils (can be held in SA)
Tree Shrews (or Australian Phascogales, [same as devils])
Star Tortoises
African Spur Thighed Tortoises
Bowerbirds (easier to obtain than now)

Any animals i have missed?
 
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personally ben, whilst i understand that there is a thriving exotic reptile balck market in australia, and legalising certain species, such as iguanas, tortoises and boas, might help at curbing that illegal trade in the short-term, long term it would do little to stop the import of even more exotic reptiles. give them green iguanas and people will only want rhinoceros iguanas. in much of Europe and the north america teh climate is far too cold for exotics such as these to survive outdoors and thus pose little threat. but you only need to look at the south of the US to see what the end result is. texas and florida in particular are absolutely over-run with exotics introduced from the pet trade. the everglades have anoles, iguanas, caiman, boas and burmese pythons and a plethora of other non-native amphibians and reptiles living in the ecosystem. and the problem isn't just restricted to lower class mammals and reptiles. macaques and squirrel monkeys are all wild and breeding in these two states.

in addition to this zoos in the Us are constantly bombarded with unwanted exotic "problem pets" that they can't affort to take in.

as much as id'e love a pet otter - i just can't ignore the fact that legalising exotics just creates too many potential problems.
 
yes i agree patrick thats why i was advocating the way SA NPWS run there specialist permit (which i hold for Black Winged Stilts), this permit covers natives Parrots worth over $1000 and any hard to look after animals, aside from black cockatoos and fig parrots most birds are under $1000 a pair (softbills).

It goes like this you send in an application for the permit (about $100) you must attach details on where you plan to house then and experience you have had with related species. Then a park ranger comes and Inspects your property. with escapees in mind. A mate of mine applied for his Bush Thick Knee permit and it was not granted until he had added a safety enterance to his avairy.

Also you must send in books twice a year, and you must record where you got the animals from and who. this stops the taking of animals from the wild.
 
i am fully against this

patrick-florida-perfect example.
meerkats & otters as pets???????? could you imagine what would happen if these guys escaped? critically endangered star tortoise?
palm squirrels are already feral in south perth, an area where they cant do much damage. but it goes to show they can survive in the wild and that feral population is quite persistent. i think releasing any of the above species into private hands could open up a whole can of worms-people who own these animals may not want to liberate them, but what happens in the case of a storm smashing into the compound, or someone stealing them??? we already have enough feral animals in this country and i wouldnt want to see more of our already degraded native eco-systems damaged.
even native animals in the wrong place do damage-kangaroos on maria island, koalas on islands, freshwater fish in river systems they dont belong in, lyrebirds in tasmania.
i think to use the united states as an example is a compelling reason as to why we shouldnt broaden the range of exotic pets avilable in this country.
 
I think it would be good if we were able to keep more native animals. There should be limits where it is more dificult to keep animals not indigenous to each area.

Fat Tailed Dunnarts for example where over a large area of eastern Australia and do very well in captivity. It would be much better for the environment being able to keep any native animal other than a cat. It is dificult to underatand how it is alright to have a cat which ranges freely killing native animals, but you can not keep a native animal such as a rufus betong which also ranged over a large area of Australia.
 
In SA we can Theoretcly(sp) keep any Native Animal we want, all we need is the permit to get Issued, my mate just got a Nankeen Kestrel
 
SA sounds like a good state to live in with sensable laws. I would love to fence off a couple of acres with a high netting fence an have Rufus Bettongs.
 
its not just SA mate. NSW and VIC also have licensing sytems with a very liberal amount of species to choose from, including bettongs and dunnarts as you said. i used to have a category 2 licence, and i could keep wombats, small wallabies and suger gliders as well as just about any reptile i wanted. its not about getting the permit to keep them its more about availability. not many people breed natives for pets. if you want, id'e say there could be a thriving little market in small wallabies as pets.
 
Yes i know that pat but SA is by far the best state for it, Because we have people acctually breeding everything that can be kept, from Dunnarts to Bettongs (you can get a bettong for about $25) Wedge Tailed Eagles, Barking Owls and even Feathertail Gliders (i believe 2 people in SA hold them)
 
Oriental Small-clawed otters DO NOT make good pets.. believe me.. :)

They're cute but their bites are really really nasty and they're really noisy.
 
not mine.

id'e get him de-clawed, de-toothed and de-barked. then put it in a little cage and only pull him out to show off to chicks. eventually id'e get bored of it and dump it at the zoo.
 
i hope you are being sarcastic mate, or i will declaw, de tooth and de bark u, not to mention neuter u
 
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