Connecting more South Australians with native wildlife

The change is a move to strengthen the connection between native animals and people, as well as provide a clearer online process to apply for permits.

Department for Environment and Water (DEW) spokesperson Jason Higham said South Australia’s modernised 2019 Wildlife Regulations will take affect from 1 July 2019.

“The new regulations underline the new customer-focused wildlife permit website to provide customers clearer information to help them apply for the right permit, and clearly detail the rules that apply under that permit,” Mr Higham said.

A wildlife permit is required in South Australia to keep, sell, hunt, rescue and farm native animals.

Mr Higham said the new regulations are about strengthening the bond between Australia’s native wildlife and people, with an increased number of native animals exempt from requiring a permit from 1 July.

“Increasing the number of natives that do not require a permit is a deliberate move to encourage appropriate native animals as pets in South Australia,” Mr Higham said.

“The animals that are exempt from needing a permit have strong populations, are not of conservation concern and are easy enough to look after, such as the central bearded dragon.”

Key changes in the 2019 Wildlife Regulations include:

• An increase in wildlife permit types from 12 to 27. The increase in the types of permits will provide people with clearer expectations about keeping, selling or destroying native animals.
• 40 additional native animals will be exempt from requiring a wildlife permit, bringing the number of exempt native species in SA to 97.
• People keeping kangaroos will require a specialist permit due to the potential dangers posed by adult male kangaroos, as well as their space and husbandry requirements.

The new native wildlife permit website and revised regulations recognise modern community expectations, advances in knowledge, and an increase in wildlife carers and volunteers as well as customer feedback.

The 2019 Wildlife Regulations have been developed over four years with key stakeholders including permit holders, wildlife rescue organisations, dealers in native wildlife, policy makers, scientists and legal professionals.

South Australian wildlife regulations sit under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 to ensure that captive native animals are legally sourced and the keeping and trading of native fauna does not adversely impact on wild populations or ecological communities.

For more information visit the DEW website or contact DEW’s Fauna Permit Unit.