ENVIRONMENT
Is selling or leasing wildlife part of the conservation strategy of any other countries?
Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including today’s thought-provoking polls.

Images by KiWilson, G. R., Hayward, M. W. and Wilson, C. (2016), Market-Based Incentives and Private Ownership of Wildlife to Remedy Shortfalls in Government Funding for Conservation. CONSERVATION LETTERS. doi:10.1111/conl.12313
Discussion Ideas
- A proposed new policy in Australia suggests a system of “leasing” populations of Australia’s indigenous species to private landowners. What are some examples of Australia’s dazzling indigenous species?
- Get ready for your glamor shots, Aussies! Here is a fantastic photo album from Joel Sartore’s Photo Ark. For goodness sake, click to enlarge!!
- How is wildlife currently managed in Australia?
- “The Australian and New Zealand governments maintain a hegemony over the management of wildlife,” keeping wildlife “conserved through a combination of pristine parks, and non-use of nationalized wildlife on land outside [the parks].”
- How would the proposed law work?
- In simple terms, “private landowners could obtain species from areas where they are overpopulated, breed them and then release them back into parts of the wild where their numbers are dwindling.”
- Landowners could also “breed these animals and sell surpluses to other landholders wanting to establish new colonies.”
- Landowners would not officially own the animals. They would lease animals owned by the government.
- “Leases of wildlife to private landholders would have conditions attached. Leased animals could be traded as is currently the case between zoos, and … [g]overnments would enforce animal welfare codes, administer control over genetic issues, selection and breeding, and releases of species beyond their natural range.”
- In simple terms, “private landowners could obtain species from areas where they are overpopulated, breed them and then release them back into parts of the wild where their numbers are dwindling.”
- How do supporters say the proposed policy would help conservation efforts?
- Private, fenced-in land would offer animals increased protection from predators.
- Captive breeding has generally proven to be a successful strategy for preserving species.
- A wildlife market would provide landowners an economic incentive to conserve habitat.
- Less regulation and money from government programs could allow the government to focus conservation efforts on other strategies.
- Why do some conservationists oppose the proposed policy?
- The policy would likely prioritize charismatic and cute animals. “The idea of putting endangered species into sort of a market trade dynamic is, on the whole, a little bit frightening,” says one conservation biologist. “What happens when the market for an endangered species tanks for whatever reason? And we don’t have a market incentive to save it anymore?”
- Some conservationists are skeptical about the treatment animals may receive in private habitats or breeding facilities.
- Some conservationists fear the new policy will restrict what is now national heritage into the hands of a wealthy elite.
- Some conservationists worry the policy may increase the market and opportunity for unregulated game reserves.
- Do any other countries engage in public-private ownership of indigenous wildlife?
- Yes, “[s]ince the 1970s, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa [have allowed] landholders … to commercially use the wildlife on their lands.”
- This policy is known as the “Arusha principle” after a 1961 wildlife conference in Arusha, Tanzania. The Arusha principle holds that “only by the planned utilization of wildlife as a renewable natural resource, either for protein or as a recreational attraction, can wildlife conservation and development be economically justified in competition with agriculture, stock ranching and other forms of land use.”
- Yes, “[s]ince the 1970s, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa [have allowed] landholders … to commercially use the wildlife on their lands.”
TEACHERS TOOLKIT
Australian Geographic: Wildlife to be leased to private land owners in bid to save threatened species
Nat Geo: Drought Forces Zimbabwe to Sell Animals
Nat Geo: Photo Ark
(extra credit!) Conservation Letters: Market-Based Incentives and Private Ownership of Wildlife to Remedy Shortfalls in Government Funding for Conservation
2 thoughts on “Rent-a-Roo?”