TCT’s new Wildlife Campaigner brings experience and new energy to wildlife management and policy. As a new face to Tasmania I am excited about heading up the TCT Wildlife Campaign and working towards improved native wildlife management and standards across the state. Although I am new to Tasmania, I am not new to wildlife policy and management, having worked for a number of government and private organisations including zoos, conservation groups and government wildlife agencies.
Growing up, I was always in the backyard aviary or down at the creek watching the local animals go about their lives, knowing from an early age that my life would revolve around wildlife. Originally from rural South Australia, I kicked off my career with the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia working at Adelaide Zoo, where I had the opportunity to work on a range of threatened bird species including orange-bellied parrots, swift parrots, hooded plovers and regent honeyeaters.
In 2003 my passion for wildlife took me to central Australia to take a position at the Alice Springs Desert Park, where I worked with an amazing range of arid wildlife species, including Australian bustards, grebes, bilby, cinnamon quail thrush and mala (a small hare wallaby that is now sadly extinct in the wild). Since then I have been largely based in central Australia working within the Northern Territory Government’s Wildlife and Conservation Unit. I was involved in a wide range of wildlife management and policy issues across the NT, including animal welfare awareness, 1080 use and policy review, feral animal management (including the Australian Government’s Feral Camel Program) and threatened species monitoring. I also worked extensively with a range of community groups across the arid zone including Wildcare Alice Springs Inc and the Land for Wildlife and Backyard for Wildlife programs.
The use of 1080 poison is high on the agenda, along with a review of the recreational hunting seasons for native wildlife, as I hit the ground running at TCT. I am particularly focused on ensuring the Tasmanian and Australian Government’s ‘1080 Alternatives’ program delivers some real changes for native browsing animal management, including continued research into non-lethal management techniques such as exclusion fencing and deterrents.
There is a lot of work ahead (especially as I will only be in the office two days per week!), but I am positive that together we can make some serious progress. Please feel free to contact me or drop into the TCT office to discuss your wildlife concerns and issues.
Jon DeLaine
TCT Wildlife Campaigner
Email: fringewildlife@ymail.com
Phone: 03 6234 3552