| I agree Graham,
A cynic might say that it was all a money-making exercise, using the elephants as drawcards for visitors. However, more ticket sales presumably means that the native animals in the Zoos in question will receive more attention from the public (& funding) in years to come. This is good for the future of conservation in Australia because this is where most kids see native animals for the first time; they can attribute some value to their existence and make decisions later on in life that could help them.
Some might even become zoologists/conservationists ;)
Stewart Ford
PS: I am not pro-zoo at all, it enrages me to think that all this money is being spent locally where it could be doing real good in conserving the animals' native habitat. Orangutangs are another example of this. But there are arguments for both sides, particularly if, upon seeing these endangered animals, people are encouraged to support organisations that actually do actively conserve them.
On 22/07/2005, at 9:03 AM, Graham Turner wrote: Giday birders, I have been following the story about the importation of Elephants into Australia with more than a little interest. I will state that I don't know anything about elephant conservation other than what I have heard in the media over the last few days, so I may have the story completely wrong. Anyway, the federal environment minister has given approval for 8 - 10 asian elephants to be imported into Australia for a captive breeding program being planned by several zoos, including Taronga in Sydney. Apparently they (Taronga) are spending $14 million on a 2.5 Ha enclosure for them. Other zoos are also involved, all saying that this will be wonderful for conservation of the species, which one report said there were only 35 000 left in the wild. My question is this. How is captive breeding (which apparently hasn't worked very well for elephants in the past) in Australia really going to help these beasts? I dare say the problems faced by Asian Elephants are more to do with habitat destruction than lack of breeding success. But more importantly, how much conservation of Australian wildlife could be done with $14 million, plus transport costs, plus the amounts spent by other zoos. Sure elephants are worth conserving, but when conservation dollars are hard to come by, why not be a little smarter with those dollars. How much land in the Capertee valley could be bought and revegetated for Regent Honeyeater habitat, a bird whose numbers are significantly lower than 35 000. How about hairy nosed wombats, even easier than Regent He, as they don't move around so much? Or is it just me? Cheers Graham Turner
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