My apologies
@Sdaji - for your convenience....
9 February 2021
To the Hon. Sussan Ley MP, Australian Minister for the Environment, the Hon. Matt Kean MP, NSW Minister for Energy and Environment and the HON. Meaghan Scanlon MP, QLD Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs. My name is Craig Latta and I have been working with and researching Australian Freshwater Turtles for over 45 years. I have given talks and presentations on conservation and husbandry of freshwater turtles in many states of Australia and helped institutions and Veterinarians all around Australia and the U.S.A with husbandry and breeding information. I have also volunteered for the QLD DEHP to assist with the QLD 'freshwater turtle project' and was employed on a freshwater turtle task to work with the QLD Government and assist with freshwater turtle data collection in Central QLD, directed by Dr. Colin Limpus. I was granted permission by Dr. Limpus to release my captive bred, Mary River turtles (Elusor macrurus) and I had the pleasure and honour of helping to increase numbers of this very unique turtle in the wild, and become the first licensed freshwater turtle private keeper in Australia to release a large number of endangered, captive bred turtles into their natural habitat in the name of conservation. I did this without any financial assistance. I was also employed for the ‘turtle catch, data collection and release’ to collect population numbers of the Mary River turtle, White-throated snapping turtle, Mary River Cod, QLD Lungfish and Platypus for the proposed Mary River Mega Dam at Traveston, QLD. If the construction had gone ahead, it would have been built right in the middle of the best nesting habitat and best hatchling habitat for the species, where large numbers of juvenile Mary River turtles were located and successful recruitment (where ageing and dying individuals are replaced by younger breeding adults) of the species was proven. I also started two not-for-profit freshwater turtle charities, AFTCRA Inc., an Australian Freshwater Turtle Conservation and Research Association and AFT, Australian Freshwater Turtles which I ran for over 17 years until an earlier childhood accident prevented me from be able to continue running them. What I am writing to you about is something that has me so perplexed and angered that I feel it is necessary to bring it to your attention! In 1999, 2005, 2007 and 2011 I spent many weeks snorkelling in the Manning River in NSW, monitoring the population of the now endangered Purvis’ Turtle/Manning River Turtle Myuchelys (AKA Wollumbinia) purvisi. In 2007 I began to notice the populations were decreasing and returned in 2011 to find none of the large populations in areas where they were once abundant. I contacted the Wingham Chronicle to raise awareness and in February 2011 the article came out. It was my hope that locals would act quickly to rally around this disappearing species. At this point in time I was living in QLD and was spending most of my time devoted to the endangered Mary River turtle. It took 5 years before the Manning River turtle was included on the IUCN Red list as an endangered species and even longer for conservation initiatives to commence, however it now appears that NSW and QLD state government wildlife authorities have gotten it all wrong! I am mostly concerned that in 2021, ridiculous, antiquated laws in QLD and NSW will be introduced that are what I regard as the worst anti-conservation laws ever concievable! Authorities in NSW and QLD will force licensed reptile keepers, that already keep M.purvisi and are successfully breeding them in captivity, from being able to continue breeding them and have told keepers that they must freeze the eggs of this endangered species! Can you imagine the public outrage once this news reaches the Australian and International media, especially when comparing it with if the same laws were to be applied to Endangered Australian Quolls or Bilbies? There is absolutely NO logic to this backwards thinking and senseless law! Perhaps if the NSW and QLD State wildlife authorities were to read a book called ‘Turtle Conservation’ Edited by Michael W. Klemens then they would understand that it is essential to allow as many reptile keepers as posible to breed this species in captivity to create a ‘safety net’ assurance colony and drop these ridiculous changes to the law! The Australian Reptile Park (ARP), Gosford NSW have been given an $850,000 Government grant as well as $120,000 in crowdfunding to breed this species in captivity. All this institution has managed to do is the harvesting from the wild and hatching of 2 wild laid clutches of M.purvisi and the removal of a gravid adult female M.purvisi from the wild and 12 months later, the ARP is still unable to produce any captive bred hatchling M.purvisi of its own. Re: The endangered Manning River turtle farcical law changes in NSW and QLD
There are currently licensed private keepers already successfully breeding this endangered species in captivity that receive absolutely no financial funding of any kind, including Marc Dorse of Toowoomba QLD, who has consecutively successfully bred clutches of M.purvisi from egg laying in 2014,and subsequent hatching in early 2015 and every year since. Kevin McKay, also of Toowoomba,QLD has successfully bred clutches of M.purvisi hatchlings with egg laying in 2015 and hatching in 2016 and every year since then.. I have spoken with both of these licensed keepers/breeders of this endangered species and both mentioned that they would gladly work with the state authorities and hand over their captive bred Purvis’ for a conservation initiative after ‘head starting’ the turtles to 1-2 years of age, which is recommended to get them past the most vulnerable stage in their lives, where over 90% fall prey to predators. This would ensure the species would remain viable for generations of people to enjoy well into the future! As World renowned freshwater turtle scientist and friend Dr. Gerald Kuchling Ph.D. who is in charge of the Western Swamp turtle breeding program in Western Australia once said to me, “If you give half of a breeding group of turtles to institutions and the other half to private keepers, it will be the private keepers who will successfully breed them”. How can any State or Federal Government department overide the protection provided to a CITES-listed Endangered species? Please, please do the right thing and abolish this absurd new law in QLD and NSW and let common sense prevail.
Kind regards, Craig Latta
