Backyard breeders could save Adani finch

The endangered finches threatening the Adani mine are being bred in suburban homes and traded over the internet for as little as $30.

Perth bird breeder Gordon Doutre with a southern black-throated finch. Picture: Colin Murty

The endangered finches threatening the Adani mine and the opening up of Queensland’s newest coal province are being bred in suburban homes and traded over the internet for as little as $30.

MORE: Black-throated finch derails Adani’s coalmine

Southern black-throated finches existed in large numbers across south-east Queensland and northern NSW until early last century, when their habitats were razed to graze livestock.

They now live mostly in tropical Queensland.

Bird enthusiasts around Australia are breeding the finches in their home aviaries, with sellers on Gumtree yesterday pricing them at between $30 and $80 each.

Gordon Doutre, 57, a finch breeder for 50 years, will send two breeding pairs of black-throated finches from his home in Perth to a buyer in Geraldton this weekend.

He believes private breeders could be the key to saving the species from extinction.

“I think the black-throated finch problem could be easily fixed because there are quite a few breeders out there who breed it and would take the opportunity to put them back into the wild,” Mr Doutre told The Australian.

“If we harness aviculture societies to breed up these birds and then donate them to acclimatisation aviaries, then we could release them back into the wild. It’s a sure winner.”

Adani is now facing delays and tough new rules around its plan to protect the finch as the state government considers a report that heavily criticises the company’s proposed conservation strategy and protected habitat area near the mine site.

 

“At more than 33,000ha in size, the conservation area will be bigger than Moreton Island and one of the largest privately managed conservation areas in Queensland,” Adani said. “Adani Mining has also committed to funding future academic research on the finches and their local habitat.”

However, Mr Doutre warned that Adani’s proposed habitat area would need to be carefully managed.

“(The finches) move over huge areas and if the food isn’t there they move somewhere else and if there’s no food they stop breeding,” he said, adding that the population could be wiped out by a single flood.

Mr Doutre said captive breeding had worked previously to save endangered birds.

Venezuela’s iconic red siskin was driven almost to extinction in the early 20th century as they were hunted and sold all over the world to people who specialised in exotic birds, but the population was now recovering.