Good news, new W.A species addition's approved

[Bluetongue1]

With respect to Egernia depressa, what was pointed out at the meeting in February was each of the new species created would have to be evaluated before any action could be taken. I explained that there were two Pilbara rock dwelling species and then depressa, a timber dwelling species with a widespread distribution from the Pilbara down into the northern wheat belt and goldfields and common as muck. We acknowledged the existence of the isolated central species but left it out of consideration. I can only assume that the “assessment” referred to is that of its conversation status. What is apparent is that there has been no follow up to that conversation with respect to progress or likely timing of an assessment of E. depressa. It would certainly be appropriate, depending upon the reply Stencorp receives to his recent email.


Jamie,
You do know how to rub salt into the wounds! I have long been in awe of the hardiness of some of the Dendrobiums native to NSW. I have seen them epiphytic on large sloping slabs of rock exposed to full sun in shallow gullies. Unfortunately my interests in the local epiphytes there was curtailed for practical reasons but I do still have a number of elks and a long suffering D. speciosum. Would love to see the C. suave in its natural habitat. Is their scent detectable on hot still days? No doubt there are also Sarcochilus species to be found there - something I was just starting to learn about. Dendrobium have been split to form Dockarillia but I have yet to get my head around that one. I do have a couple of Gymea Lilies here that I grew from seed but have not flowered yet, more as a reflection of my neglect than the age of the plants. Based on my childhood experiences they are very much a signature species of Hawkesbury sandstone to me. Pardon my indulgent wander down memory lane there.

Blue

 

[Snowman]

I know that three water pythons were wild collected last night

 

[stencorp69]

from whose house

 

[Snowman]

from whose house

Hahaha No a licensed wild taker in the Kimberly.

 

[Bluetongue1]

No flies on Keith.

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Mike, you would have seen my post about Simpson this afternoon - you were asking about him yesterday, and I knew he was in court but didn't want to say anything until there was a conclusive result. I wasn't sure when the case would be concluded - it was scheduled to run for 3 days, but the guilty plea to 4 charges meant there was only the sentencing hearing to be dealt with today. As it was conducted and concluded in open court, it's something that all herpers should know about, he's a person to be very wary of. There will be more in the print press next week.

Jamie

 

[Bluetongue1]

Thanks Jamie. Actually I did not see your thread as I have been busy the last few days.

Blue

 

[adderboy]

RSP 2-3 years

Ever the optimist, Stephen...

S

 

[Tristan]

so where can i see a list of whats available now and what license class they have been added too?

 

[stencorp69]

Come Simon, got cut me a little slack I was the only one who thought we'd be able to get them through on the first go .

 

[Snowman]

so where can i see a list of whats available now and what license class they have been added too?

http://www.slp.wa.gov.au/gazette/gazette.nsf/gazlist/97E25F3ACA0B16BB48257BDA000BD9A6/$file/gg163.pdf

 

[Bluetongue1]

Come Simon, got cut me a little slack I was the only one who thought we'd be able to get them through on the first go .

I can vouch for the fact that I did not expect RSP's but was comfortable that the BTS would get a guernsey.

Blue

 

[Pythoninfinite]

The interesting thing is the number of Kimberley species - I wonder if it's finally sinking in that some of these species mayactually become extinct because current legislation pretty much guarantees it as Cane Toads become established...

J

 

[Bluetongue1]

The species were chosen by society members, being the only representative body of the hobby in WA. But in terms of approvals, yes, you do have to wonder if has been prompted by a “get them while you can” and before the cane toads do. There has been a flurry of research into stopping the toads... something that should have been done twenty years ago when it was clearly evident that what is happening today was simply a matter of time.

Given the amount study put into the toads, the likelihood of finding a “silver bullet” diminishes with time. I would imagine that under the circumstances the Department is hopeful that natural selection finds an effective solution, be it behavioural, structural or physiological. They do not seem to be pre-emptive in recommending highly vulnerable species to be added to the list of reptiles and amphibians that may be kept as pets.

Blue

 

[stencorp69]

You are right Mike I was surprised BTS got included - and I image we will get another couple of Egernia XXXXX added to the list once the conservation status is sorted

 

[Tristan]

cat 5 great so it will cost stupid amounts of money each year to keep them :/
thanks for the link Snowman

 

[Snowman]

cat 5 great so it will cost stupid amounts of money each year to keep them :/
thanks for the link Snowman

A bit less than $1 a day in license fees.

Hope they sort out the taking and importing changes soon. None of the new additions can be wild caught or imported at the moment...

 

[Red-Ink]

You guys should hook us up in the east and tackle the export charges while you guys are at it

 

[stencorp69]

Gordon Wyre has sent me another email this morning confirming that the reclassified former single E. depressa species are still under review - that is they have not been ruled out of being added to the Reptile keeping list at this stage. The feed back from the officer undertaking the assesment is as follows

Given recent taxonomic revision of this group (Doughty et al. 2011) there are now four separate species of the former single E. depressa species, with a need to further investigate each new species’ natural distribution.

The new four separate species are currently considered to be found in specific distributions as follows: E. depressa (restricted to SW), E. eos (central ranges), E. cygnitos (southern pilbara) and E. epsisolus (northern pilbara).

It is possible that one or more of these new species may be under some level of conservation threat and this needs to be further investigated. The new speciation may cause problems with identification and thus create issues in relation to enforcement in terms of specific species or hybrids.

The original E. depressa has been highly sought after in the eastern states and overseas and adding one or more of the new species to the captive keeping list in WA may eventually help to reduce poaching from WA, provided secure, non threatening, wild harvesting operations can be ensured. In the interim, however, there is likely to be a strong desire for keepers locally and internationally to have each species, possibly putting considerable collection pressure on wild populations.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Tristan,
Based on care requirements alone, Rough-scaled Pythons are a Category 3 animal. However, the level of difficulty in caring for an animal is not the sole criterion used in determining its category.

The criteria for Cat 5 from the 2002 Regs: “Category 5 pet herpetofauna is fauna that the Minister considers
(a) is dangerous;
(b) is threatened or endangered in the wild;
(c) has highly specialised feeding or housing requirements; or
(d) is very difficult to keep in captivity.”

The RSP has not been evaluated in term of its conversation status. It has, however been put on the WA List of Declared Fauna as “Priority One: Poorly-known species (on threatened lands)”. This list relates to legislation in the 1950 Act, as follows...
WILDLIFE CONSERVATION ACT 1950 - SECT 14

1. The Minister may, from time to time by notice published in the Government Gazette , declare that any fauna specified in the notice is for the purposes of this Act fauna which is likely to become extinct, or is rare, or otherwise in need of special protection and while such declaration is in operation

From the department... Such specially protected wildlife (fauna and flora) is considered to be "threatened".

I would suggest that the ‘threatened’ tag is the justification for putting it into Category 5. Whether that is the rationale behind doing so is highly questionable.

Blue