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Hello fellow koi friends ,

Some of you would know by now that the Australian Government is considering a nation-wide ban on koi in Australia. I am hoping that all of you might help just a little to prevent this from happening. I hope you will be able to write a letter or send an email to those who are pushing this proposal forward

Link to the government proposal
http://www.daff.gov.au/ornamental

Discusion on the Australian Koi Forum
http://ksakoi.com/bb/index.php?board=29.0

The most important person to send your email and letters to is:

Mr Richard Tilzey
Ornamental Fish Working Group
Bureau of Rural Sciences
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601

Email: http://mailto:richard.tilzey@brs.gov.au

If you want to use this sample letter below to get you started, please do

Dear .............

"I am writing to you to lend my support to my fellow koi keepers in Australia. I have become aware that your government is considering banning the keeping of koi in all of Australia. I think this would be a major disappointment. Australian koi keepers are amongst some of the best in the world. They are both dedicated to responsible koi ownership and maintaining the Australian way of life. I urge you to allow the keeping of koi in Australia, in those states where it is currently legal. It would be a major loss to Australia and to the international community if there was a total ban on keeping koi in all of Australia.

Yours Sincerely

It really does seem a pointless ban, especially since any Koi released into the environment by flooding etc will already be out there, and fishing for them exclusively to rid aus of the problem is almost impossible. Normally id vote with any legislation that kept the environment as free from non-indigenous species as possible, but this is locking the door after the horse has bolted. Its only going to annoy people and serve no purpose.

The australians have as yet not managed to do anything about cane toads, which by comparison are dead easy to catch,and yet they still prevent export of their indigenous species to people who might have the expertise and experience to help preserve the species.

If you read a book by Raymond Hoser on the subject you will find many of the indiosyncrasies of the oz government interesting to say the least.

Lets be honest if you were worried about harmful species youd start with cats , rats, rabbits, sheep, etc and work your way down. Methinks koi are some way down the list, probably about 950 th place or so.

In fact you wanna know something really sad? I didnt even read the links before responding to the original post, thats how predictably badly researched and overkill aus policy has become. It actually made me giggle when I did read them. 60 years ago this policy might have made sense, but its far, far too late now.

The same claims could be made about virtually any non-indigenous aus pet, I fail to see why koi should be singled out. On a small island ecosystem I can see it being policeable, but in aus, huge imports , black markets,massive population, heavy industry, people living out in the sticks - theres no way this legislation will make a difference, and more to the point theres a great many more practises that should be stopped, but noticeably they wont be stopped, because they generate money for the government.

If this were a brand new situation , and folks having moved to a new island ecosytem and it was a pristine ecosystem I could understand it, and I dont doubt that koi do damage to watercourses in aus,and normally protecting the environment at the cost of a petkeepers desires would be worth it 100 times over, but the point is , theyre already out there,and have been so possibly for decades. They wont be caught, and the spread , which could be as simple as an egg on a ducks feet will not be stopped. They are hoping to prevent the release of koi into new areas, and thats fair enough, but make koi illegal and watch what happens. A lot will see the owners dump the animals rather than kill them or be caught with illegal specimens. Does that not make the problem worse? Then you have to bear in mind that for every hundred fish they prevent being released, theres already a few thousand out there breeding already.In a less versatile species there may have been hope, but koi will now be aus natives for keeps. You could spend hundreds of billions trying to kill all of them, and never get them all, and thats assuming you know where they all are and where the distribution lies, being that the fish will have had several decades headstart on any qualititve survey , if indeed any are being done today. I sincerely doubt the oz government knows the full distribution of koi.

Lets just hope they learn their lesson from the cane toad fiasco, and dont release another non-indigenous species to eat the koi.

Ridiculous.

I think there's some wisdom to this.

Imported fish have wiped out, or severly decimated, alot of Australian native species. Whilst I think a total ban is unreasonable the koi trade and keeping should be in some way regulated.

A similar scernario exists in the avian trade - many overseas species, such as Mawcaws, are simply not allowed as when they invariably escape they will cause damage to the Australian ecosystem.

I think the same principle should apply to the koi trade. I've seen an entire river that just has carp in it - no natives.

And with due respect longhairedgit, cane toads are easy to catch, but they are spread over an area bigger than the UK and breed *fast*

Definetely a total ban is way to harsh but some accountabilty needs to be introduced, imho anyway.

Chances are the koi have probably already have a wider distribution than cane toads. Theyll be taking surveys in 10 years time that prove me right, trust me on this. Their reproduction rate is just as fast, and able to cover greater areas with greater speed, the only hope for the limitation of the spread is the confining areas of seperate water, but as ive stated before, vast areas of oz flood seasonally, so even these barriers may be breached, not to mention the eggs occasionally end up airborne on the feet of aquatic fowl, giving them a potential range of several hundred miles in a single journey..

I agree with you on the licensing and legislation in place to limit the spread a bit, but ultimately I think failure is inevitable . The OZ goverment has to be seen to be taking the issue seriously,especially since australia has so many precious and unique species I appreciate that,Im not altogether happy about koi being loose in aus, but I have the feeling they will be overmatched. They will never have the skills, manpower or money available to solve the problem, and hardcore grandstanding makes no difference.

There is a difference though, between brown I'm-gunna-eat-your-toddler carp, and fancy koi. Not to say fancy koi won't survive and do damage, but they are a helluva lot easier to spot and you could probabpy knock them off with a rifle if you had to.

I see no point in this, as git said, its fighting the wrong side of the battle. If they'd done it earlier, fine. Stopping fancy koi trade is hardly going to stop the carp doing the damage, it'll just irk those who understand them best.

Koi are only legal in 2 states as it is, and not available for import. If they ban them outright, many strains will be lost and thats just unfair.

I'm all for licencing and control, but I can't see it happening. Koi keepers are a minority and everyone knows carp eat our natives.

They should legalise carp shooting. Covers the latest play to the gun lobby and helps attack the problem... though I can just see some poor unsuspecting trout copping it...

Actualy, there's a thought, why not get rid of the trout too?

And goldfish!? goldfish do oodles of damage and yet they sell them for a pittance to children!


Honestly, wildlife policies over here really seem pointless.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

I see no point in this, as git said, its fighting the wrong side of the battle. If they'd done it earlier, fine. Stopping fancy koi trade is hardly going to stop the carp doing the damage, it'll just irk those who understand them best.

Actually i guess I see the point you guys are making. If this was part of a whole set of wildlife reforms, setup earlier and targeting all areas, then fine. But in isolation, it's ineffective.

Ok you changed my mind

...but I have the feeling they will be overmatched. They will never have the skills, manpower or money available to solve the problem, and harcore grandstanding makes no difference.

yeah your right man. At the end of the day it comes down to how much money the govt is prepared to spend on the issue.

Actualy, there's a thought, why not get rid of the trout too?

Im an avid trout fisherman in the SW of Aus and they are one of the most aggressive species I have seen. My friend and I never cease to be amazed at how powerful their attacks are. The stream where we fish only has trout in it now, the poor little natives had no chance.

The other offender is Redfin perch. Not as aggressive but they reach plague proportions and clog up the rivers. The standard pratice among fisherfolk is to kill them when u catch them

And goldfish!? goldfish do oodles of damage and yet they sell them for a pittance to children!

I dont know...if they were a threat to the Aust ecosystem wouldnt they have damaged it by now?

Maybe the trout keep them under control

those large plain "carp" are probably large overgrown old 2 ft long goldfish.

Stupid people. Koi are a species of carp, but are very, very different. I doubt many of them ahve truely seen koi in the native rivers.

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.