TODAY’S announcement of Australia’s first Threatened Species Commissioner is a welcome injection of momentum into the race to save Australia’s threatened plants and animals, according to WWF.
WWF-Australia CEO Dermot O’Gorman said the announcement by Australia’s Environment Minister Greg Hunt has great potential to be a valuable reform.
“We applaud Minister Hunt’s determination to tackle species decline across Australia,” Mr O’Gorman said.
“The appointment of Mr Gregory Andrews is very welcome and we wish him well in the very challenging role of Threatened Species Commissioner.
“Our national endangered species list has only grown over the past decade.
“However with the right resources and powers, the new Commissioner and adequately resourced Action Plans could be the catalyst for arresting and reversing this trend.”
WWF’s National Manager for Species, Darren Grover, welcomed the release of the Action Plan for Australian Mammals, which Minister Hunt cited as a key resource for the new Commissioner.
“The Action Plan makes it clear that feral cats are one of the major threat to our terrestrial mammal fauna,” Mr Grover said.
“Minister Hunt’s comments that the threat of feral animals will be a key priority to be addressed by the new Commissioner are very encouraging.
“We welcome research into options such as humane baiting and look forward to hearing more details about the full package of protections for our native wildlife,” Mr Grover said.
Source: WWF-Australia
