SA threatened species need more funding, say conservationists

CONSERVATIONISTS are calling for greater efforts to protect all animals after the Federal Government prioritised “charasmatic” creatures in a crowd-funding venture to help projects to stop South Australia animals from becoming extinct.

Adelaide Zoo has welcomed two Bilby joeys who has just recently emerged from mum Alkina's pouch. Picture: CATHY DAVIS

CONSERVATIONISTS are calling for greater efforts to protect all animals – from the charismatic to the downright ugly – on World Threatened Species Day.

A year after the federal Environment Department launched a crowd-funding scheme to fund projects to protect threatened species, Greens environment spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young has called for the funding to instead come straight from government coffers.

Last year, the department’s threatened species prospectus, which invited businesses and philanthropists to invest in the future of Australian species, was released in a bid to raise $50 million in private donations for projects to stop Australia animals from becoming extinct.

In March, it was revealed the department had prioritised cute critters classed as “charismatic” – like the bilby, the black cockatoo and the numbat – over beastly creatures, including a vampire-like bat and a marsupial resembling a rat, as part of the fundraising drive.

The project aimed to raise more than $6 million for projects to stop South Australia to protect animals included the southeastern red-tailed black-cockatoo, black-footed rock-wallaby, mallee emu wren, western quoll, mallee fowl, southern emu wren, and the eradication of feral cats on Kangaroo Island.

“We need to fight for a $6 million investment from the Federal Government,” Senator Hanson-Young said.

“We all like photos of cute animals, but the reality is we won’t save any of them unless we have fully funded targeted programs, and policies that take in the bigger picture.”

A department spokesman said the Australian Government was committed to threatened species conservation, establishing a Commissioner in 2014 and a strategy a year later.

“The Australian Government has mobilised more than $255 million for more than 1200 projects supporting threatened species outcomes since 2014, through a range of programs including the National Landcare Program, 20 Million Trees, Green Army and the National Environmental Science Program,” the spokesman said.

“It also includes the $5 million Threatened Species Recovery Fund.”

Conservation Council SA chief executive Craig Wilkinson said an estimated 73 species had become extinct since European settlement.

“It’s horrible to imagine that a part of nature that has survived for thousands of years could potentially become extinct on our watch,” Mr Wilkinson said.

Zoos SA will mark threatened species day by acknowledging its breeding successes which include more than 200 Greater Bilbies — the latest were two little males that emerged from their mum’s pouch a month ago – and the hatching of eight critically endangered Western Swamp Tortoises earlier this year.

Projects that need the most financial help in SA

— southeastern red-tailed black-cockatoo

— black-footed rock-wallaby

— mallee emu wren

— western quoll

— mallee fowl

— southern emu wren

— eradication of feral cats on Kangaroo Island.

Originally published as SA threatened species need more funding, say conservationists