ZYBen
Well-Known Member
http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/trade-use/invitecomment/pubs/aepyceros-melampus.pdf'
Looks like they may be getting some impala soon.
Looks like they may be getting some impala soon.
Werribee Open Range Zoo Impala at Weribee
- Thread starter ZYBen
- Start date
The report does start with "impala WILL be imported into Werribee open range zoo"
With all the threads on here saying hoofstock will never be imported into Australia, maybe this is the chink of light all you ozzies have been waiting for, i do hope you get them ( i wish we had them here in the UK ).
With all the threads on here saying hoofstock will never be imported into Australia, maybe this is the chink of light all you ozzies have been waiting for, i do hope you get them ( i wish we had them here in the UK ).
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its sort of good news, but on the other hand, rather than trying to establish a new species of antelope (and a non-threatened one at that) I would have liked to see some new bongo, nilgai, eland, addax, waterbuck and kudu imported to revitalise the gene pool of these species, many of which are actually threatened and would stand to gain from a large insurance population here in Australia, even if it did become a closed program again at some point in the future.
sometimes makes you wonder how sensible a move this is? when bongo are down to 3 founders, indian rhino program is stalled, francois langur and silvery gibbon programs are at a standstill, braziliian tapir need new blood, pygmy hippo need new blood and endangered Persian Onagers are being phased out, it makes you wonder why on earth we are importing this species......investing resources and time. down the track i would love to see impala, but id like our zoos to fix the above problems first.
sometimes makes you wonder how sensible a move this is? when bongo are down to 3 founders, indian rhino program is stalled, francois langur and silvery gibbon programs are at a standstill, braziliian tapir need new blood, pygmy hippo need new blood and endangered Persian Onagers are being phased out, it makes you wonder why on earth we are importing this species......investing resources and time. down the track i would love to see impala, but id like our zoos to fix the above problems first.
I disagree, Impalas would be the perfect addition to any African themed mixed species exhibit....they have spectacular horns thus making them impressive display animals. Imagine a Savannah exhibit featuring giraffes, impalas, zebras, eland and ostrich...now that would be unreal!!
Yeah Impala would look good at Werribee what is the point of bringing in yet another species when as Glyn says we have several species that desperatly needs revitalising. I can't open the document at the moment so haven't read the article but I wonder if this is a taste of what will happen when Werribee becomes owned by Village Roadshow. The place going going their own way with no thought into what is really needed for conservation or the wider ANZ zoo world.
Jay, I know that you said you haven't read the document, but clearly, the others haven't read it clearly, so don't feel you are behind the eight ball! It states:
The ARAZPA Artiodactyl Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) has identified Impala as a preferred African savanna antelope species for this region. Werribee Open Range Zoo seeks to import Impala in 2009 from a zoological institution in one of the following regions New Zealand, North America, Europe or South Africa. This will be a joint importation with a number of regional zoos. These individuals will be the founders for an Australasian captive breeding program for this antelope."
As the sections that I've highlighted show, this is a regional initiative (meaning all of the zoos involved are working together on this). It has absolutely nothing to do with any Village Roadshow proposal, nor Werribee doing this on their own. It has been under discussion for a long long time, and as has been said on here before, these wheels move very slowly when it comes to importing species that at the moment, and not allowed.
The choice of species depends on what's available, in the countries that are the government is allowing the zoos to consider importing from, and the viability of animals available in those countries. It's not anywhere near as easy as "let's fix up what we've got first". Do you really think the zoos make these sorts of decisions without many, many hours of discussion first??
The ARAZPA Artiodactyl Taxon Advisory Group (TAG) has identified Impala as a preferred African savanna antelope species for this region. Werribee Open Range Zoo seeks to import Impala in 2009 from a zoological institution in one of the following regions New Zealand, North America, Europe or South Africa. This will be a joint importation with a number of regional zoos. These individuals will be the founders for an Australasian captive breeding program for this antelope."
As the sections that I've highlighted show, this is a regional initiative (meaning all of the zoos involved are working together on this). It has absolutely nothing to do with any Village Roadshow proposal, nor Werribee doing this on their own. It has been under discussion for a long long time, and as has been said on here before, these wheels move very slowly when it comes to importing species that at the moment, and not allowed.
The choice of species depends on what's available, in the countries that are the government is allowing the zoos to consider importing from, and the viability of animals available in those countries. It's not anywhere near as easy as "let's fix up what we've got first". Do you really think the zoos make these sorts of decisions without many, many hours of discussion first??
The paper doesn't say there are!
But New Zealand can now import antelope from South Africa, and so if we are able to import antelope from New Zealand, as the paper suggests, then there is more chance of this being allowed, after the animals have undergone quarantine in New Zealand.
impala, no doubt about it, fit snuglly into the category of "quintessential african antelopes".
so as far as the esthetics of recreating africa go, this would have to be potentially the first antelope species id'e pic for any zoo. tan and slender it waht most people would descrive to define the animal "antelope".
certainly, i support the import of any artiodactyl into australia, especially one with a proper breeding agreement and whilst it may not be fair to trash the proposed import for the above mentioned reasons zoopro gave, i certainly understand what glyns saying.
becuse to be honest, im not getting the vibe zoos are really going through with any of these agreements they so happily continue to make. if we can't blame zoos for choosing to import impala, we can certainly blame them for choosing to import bongo or kudu or sable or any of the other species that have turned out to be for whatever reason a dead-end breeding program..
so as far as the esthetics of recreating africa go, this would have to be potentially the first antelope species id'e pic for any zoo. tan and slender it waht most people would descrive to define the animal "antelope".
certainly, i support the import of any artiodactyl into australia, especially one with a proper breeding agreement and whilst it may not be fair to trash the proposed import for the above mentioned reasons zoopro gave, i certainly understand what glyns saying.
becuse to be honest, im not getting the vibe zoos are really going through with any of these agreements they so happily continue to make. if we can't blame zoos for choosing to import impala, we can certainly blame them for choosing to import bongo or kudu or sable or any of the other species that have turned out to be for whatever reason a dead-end breeding program..
Doesn't New Zealand have thomsons gazelle or another type of small antelope. To me it would make more sense to import them because then if we hit a situation that we're gonna need to inbreed them then we can jump the tasman and get some more or vice versa.
Thank you for clariyfing this zoopro. It is good that this is a regional plan and not a foretaste of what could happen IF Werribee is taken over. I love impala but why might it be possible to bring in impala and not other arti stock such as bongo, hippo etc?
This sounds like good news. Australia does need good quarintine but ours in many cases (not race horses) is to over restrictive. NZ has much better quarintine which is not over restrictive. An example of this is a bloke I know tried to import new fallow deer genetics into Aus. The only way he could do this was to import the deer into NZ then colect semen there and import that.
If you had a choice to see an impala or a bongo, of which you had already seen before, what would you choose?
99% of people would choose to see something new, and impalas are spectacular animals and would definitely draw in visitors. I do believe in creating a sustaining captive population but I also believe in importing new species to up the 'wow factor'.....
99% of people would choose to see something new, and impalas are spectacular animals and would definitely draw in visitors. I do believe in creating a sustaining captive population but I also believe in importing new species to up the 'wow factor'.....
Whereas I applaud the concerted effort by ARAZPA and all its member institutions to import impala. I wonder why the Artiodactyl TAG is not similarly opting to bring more founders in for the bongo, addax and kudu in Australia/New Zealand. Perhaps Falco can give us some insight on this (as NZ is able to import Artiodactyls for Australia/ARAZPA zoos) .. What about this sable import from southern Africa by Orana? All above species would augment the African savannah themes of several zoos and secure viable populations for each.
Any indications that this might happen sooner rather than later?
Any indications that this might happen sooner rather than later?
Nope, later rather than sooner. New Zealand zoos aren't planning on importing from South Africa for about 18 months. There are still a number of pre and post export quarantine issues to be resolved first.
A senior keeper at Wellington is originally from South Africa , and is hoping to import species from there ...... but plans are kept vague , and so far only Porcupines have arrived at Wellington from S Africa .....
As Zoopro said , it will probably be later than sooner , but I wouldnt be surprised if the process was done by our man at Wellington ...
As Zoopro said , it will probably be later than sooner , but I wouldnt be surprised if the process was done by our man at Wellington ...
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