Deliberate - well that is a very hard one to make in that Aussie zoos started out as basically depots for acclimatisation societies in the 19th century.
Accidental - you are on much stronger grounds with that, and is really the point. We can look on the deliberate introductions as a historical phase, with no relevance today, but any accidental introductions would be an argument against zoos.
You are, as we have come to expect, quite correct Mr J!
Had I spent more time sleeping and less time driving and lecturing during this past week I might have taken the time to write more accurately.
Historically, "deliberate" releases were quite common and the results of many of those releases are still plaguing our country today. However, today's regulators regard "deliberate" releases as those effected by animal liberationists and other vandals. Hence my use of the word "deliberate".
@Chlidonias - I don't think that anyone regards those cute little critters as "feral pests". At least, not yet. True, they have set up a self-sustaining population in a small area of suburban Perth. However, if the will was there, they could be exterminated quite easily as was the Mosman population around Taronga some years ago.
@Hix - One of the [very few] benefits of living into old age is that one can [sometimes] remember things from years past! In my younger, travelling days [pre-1970s] I remember seeing White Ibis at a number of locations along the eastern seaboard. Their numbers have certainly increased in recent years but I doubt that we could blame Taronga solely for that?
@torie - I was talking again today to Charlie Knie, who owns Crystal Creek Parrot Gardens, and he tells me that the government is "considering" what to do about his breeding "male" Common Marmosets. Although he is thrilled to have the youngsters, he is quite upset that he might have unwittingly blotted his copybook with the NSW government so early in his Australian zoo-owning career.
