Do Parks Victoria's reasons for removing wildlife from Serendip stack up?

The successful Bustard breeding program has been removed from Serendip. Why?

 Sometime in the last 12 months Bustards were removed from Serendip.  Parks Victoria claims that "the removal of animals has been undertaken with animal welfare as a key priority"*.  Here we examine if this claim stacks up.

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How do you test the health and safety of captive wildlife?

Strict laws set out requirements for displaying wildlife in enclosures. Lara Care Group used the Victorian Government's "Code of Practice for the Public Display of Exhibition of Animals" (Animal Welfare Victoria : Dept. of Agriculture). 

Parks Victoria should have used these same laws to determine if captive wildlife at Serendip was being handled correctly.

Read on and judge for yourself if Parks Victoria's decision to remove captive wildlife from Serendip meets the pub test....or any test for that matter!

Are the enclosures too small?

Enclosure size is the most important test for the humane keeping of captive wildlife. We checked four enclosures at Serendip using Animal Welfare Victoria's Code of Practice. Here's what we found:

• Bustard : 500% larger than required (5 times bigger than required)
• Brolga : 500% oversized (5 times bigger)
• Bird aviary : 314% oversized (over 3 times bigger than required)
• Bandicoots : 16,000% oversized (yes you read that right - 1,600 times bigger than required!)

No enclosures we found were undersized.

See Lara Care Group's full table of comparisons.

CONCLUSION: Does not stack up

Is staffing, husbandry and handling at fault?

The Code requires that managers and staff know what they are doing. Throughout most of its history Serendip employed staff that were trained in wildlife management. 

Serendip has a proven track record of successful breeding programs with the Brolga, Bustard, Cape Barren Goose, Magpie Goose, Eastern Barred Bandicoot and other species.

Up until a few months ago Serendip employed a full time wildlife manager - that person has now left and has not been replaced. We have to wonder why!

CONCLUSION: Does not stack up

Are the enclosures below standard?

As far as we are aware most enclosures at Serendip meet the standards of the Code. Some of them may need minor attention but are definitely well within the standards set out in the Code related to water, nutrition, hygiene, breeding, layout, design and more.

CONCLUSION: Does not stack up

Is veterinary care available?

The code requires that adequate veterinarian care is available. For many years the needs of Serendip's wildlife have been easily met by local vets. 

CONCLUSION: Does not stack up

So does Parks Victoria's claim that wildlife cannot be supported at Serendip stack up?

Under every requirement of the Code of Practice, Serendip was an exemplary example of successful and high quality wildlife care, husbandry and management. In fact some of Serendip's free breeding and release programs have been recognised as amongst the best in Australia.

Ever tightening budget cutbacks over the past decade have impacted on Serendip's ability to fulfill its role as a breeding and display Sanctuary for Australian wildlife.

However, even as recently as early 2022, Serendip's breeding and showcasing of wildlife met (and probably exceeded) most, if not all, the requirements of the Code. 

We have been unable to find evidence that Serendip was operating below standard. Nor have we been able to find out where the wildlife has gone!  

The secrecy surrounding wildlife removal and the excuses used by Parks Victoria to abandon the captive wildlife program defy logic and are an afront to the people of Lara.

Serendip was fit for purpose

In a recent letter to our Member of Parliament, Ella George, President of Lara Care Group, Barry White, said:  "The fact is that Serendip was fit for purpose and this should not have been used as a cover for Parks Vic’s actions in removing the wildlife"

So what Parks Victoria is telling the public does not stack up. 

QUOTES & NOTES

* Quote as the head of this story: "the removal of animals has been undertaken with animal welfare as a key priority" is taken from a recent letter from the Chair of Parks Victoria to Lara Care Group.

Australian Bustard: (photo at the head of this article) is classified as Critically Threatened in Victoria. The Bustard is a very difficult bird to breed in captivity but its future in Victoria is reliant on captive breeding and release efforts. Serendip's Bustard breeding enclosure is considered amongst the best of its type in Australia and has been successful in breeding this bird. Although the Bustards have been removed the enclosure remains standing - LCG believes that the Bustards should be returned to Serendip as they highlighted not only the success of the Sanctuary's endangered species program but also were a standout visitor learning experience.

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Join Lara Care Group

Please click here: Join the Lara Care Group

Help continue to put pressure on the State Government to stop wrecking Serendip.

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NOTES on this Newsletter

• This is an ongoing series of updates about Serendip direct from the Lara Care Group. 
• We will publish these stories regularly and post them on social media. 
• To follow this blog go to: saveserendip.blogspot.com
• Your comments are welcome (be nice 😊please)