Freckled Ducks, another leadbetters

sorry to disappoint you guys, but the shortland wetland centre, in newcastle where i live, is no longer involved with this program either. a few birds exist, as a display, but the breeding program, im told, was disbanded becasue a-lack of interest regionally & b-a capive breeding and release program was not part of the recovery process for this species. an individual, who had an affiliation with this program is im told, still keeping and breeding these birds privately.
as far as native species like this go, the buck should stop with the government, who has alot more resources at their disposal than the zoos.
however, a captive management program for this species, or assurance program should be started nonetheless. a program with a target population of around 200 +birds would be enough to keep the program genetically diverse and persistent. furthermore, greater cooperation between private birdkeepers and zoos and wildlife parks should be fostered. im sure theres alot more to be leant about this species still.
in the mean time, the government should get serious about this species, and knowing how long that normally takes, the zoos should focus on getting some of these birds into captivity again.
 
The thing is Glyn, all of this was already happening. They just let it go.
 
i was aware of the program, i too am an avid reader of birdkeeper, lol, and have been for a long time. ;) i also have the ABK publication of 'a guide to pheasants and waterfowl'. the captive status of these birds wa sindicated as being limited only to zoos and wildlife parks, so fostering a program between private and public holders is a realistic goal.
if you go on to one of the government enviro websites you can review the countries bioregions, threatened fauna species and agenda's for recovery. very few species actually have a recovery program with a captive breeding component, in fact its christmas island's endemic fauna which are most recomended for captive assurance programs (noticed theyre called that now???)...
who knows what the future is for this species??? maybe zoos with wetland enclosures could go one step further and actually start fundraising for wetland restoration projects.
 
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