The Tasmanian Brush-tail Possum is under threat. The Australian Federal Government has approved an export meat industry for Possum meat. This gentle, inquisitive but shy native marsupial is destined for the Asian dinner table. The page is dedicated to raising support for the possum world-wide, and applying pressure to the Australian Government to halt this discraceful exploitation.
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust and the Humane Society, have written to Senator Hill asking for his reasons for approving the ‘Management Program’. These groups do not believe that it meets the terms of the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Imports and Exports) Act 1982. Senator Hill legally has until early March to reply. If he does not rescind his decision, there is a possibility of legal action in the Federal Court.
The Tasmanian Conservation Trust had arranged with a meeting with John Kelly, the owner of the processing works, to view the premises. The meeting was cancelled due to a decline in demand in the recipient countries due to unseasonably warm weather. A protest was held instead which gained national media coverage in early February.
It seems that using Australia's native animals as a free resource is becoming distressingly common and accepted practice. The modern market driven economy is promoting and endorsing extreme selfishness on the part of those exploiting native animals for monetary gain. Native animals can be owned by no one but themselves.
For more information on the commercial exploitation of the possum, and for visitors to this site who are not from Australia, information on what a Possum is, please follow the following links:
Meet the Tasmanian Brushtail Possum
Information on the exploitation of the Possum
Write to:
Tell him that his decision to approve the Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife Management Program for the Tasmanian Brush-tail Possum is not acceptable on the grouds that: