A proposal created by tourism industry bodies and funded by the government includes plans to create a reserve for Tasmanian tigers.
A tourism development plan for Tasmania’s renowned Wilderness World Heritage Area includes the creation of a reserve ‘for the future release of the thylacine’.
The visionary document, entitled Reimagining the Visitor Experience of Tasmania’s Wilderness World Heritage Area, features six priority projects across the Melaleuca-Port Davey, Lake Pedder, Tarkine and Walls of Jerusalem areas.
Expressions of interest from the private sector are being sought for the purpose of establishing a ‘premier conservation destination’.
Luke Martin, chief executive of the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania, said the proposed reserve for the Tasmanian tiger could serve as a reminder of the importance of conservation even if the long-extinct species is never rediscovered.
“You might call it an aspiration or even an emotive connection that we’re seeking to create,” he said. “But there’s good reason to hope the species still exists and we should therefore have a contingency for when it’s found.”
Peter McGlone from the Tasmanian Conservation Trust said such a reserve would not only be wasteful, but nothing new.
He told Wild: “Firstly, as far as scientific consensus is concerned, the Tasmanian tiger is extinct and I believe all conservation efforts should be led by science. Secondly, the creation of such a reserve has occurred already and was shown to be fruitless.
“While this may be quite the ‘visionary’ statement, when you make such statements you need to have a very firm understanding of reality,” he added.
See Wild issue 144 for the full story.