We need to work through the herp societies next year to get the current draft sizes, which are reasonable, fixed as final. The proposal for 5 years' time is crazy. Only my big antaresia enclosure would comply with the formula. My largest display enclosure would be considered unsuitable for its current occupant (Darwin) and the one I kept her in when she was gravid would never pass,yet she is a healthy, active animal in a comfortably sized enclosure which most keepers would consider very generous. Get involved in your herp societies NOW! We MUST stand firm and get publicity for this.
"Fixed as final" should not mean enshrined in law. The unanimous opinion of the
DECCW selected Advisory Group was that the Code be made up of
guidelines, NOT mandated minima. WE had the clear impression at a fairly late stage, that DECCW had taken our advice on board, and that providing information is better than forcing the issue with a sledgehammer.
It wasn't until DECCW absolutely stopped communicating with us,and refused numerous requests from us to meet with them and examine the latest document (which any reasonable person would think appropriate) the group obtained information from our FOI requests to both DECCW
and DII that it became apparent that the entire consultation process was a sham, and the outcome, from DII's perspective, was a forgone conclusion. One of the communications between DII and DECCW is very telling - DECCW MUST word the Code to ensure the Code is ENFORCEABLE in law. DII wants a particular outcome, regardless of the advice received by keepers with decades of experience. The process has been driven by ideology, in fact many of the requirements in the Code are structured to satisfy 'public perception'... How many of you experienced keepers on APS consider 'public perception' an important part of your keeping considerations?
This will impact very significantly, not only on private keepers, but on large public collections (yes... Taronga and the ARP won't escape...), but also on very important reptile-related activities, such as the holding of large numbers of elapids for venom collection - these are necessarily compact collections for reasons of good husbandry.