Aussie Finch Forum

kenny66 wrote:If i understand your points correctly are you saying that there could be no official approval for them to be sourced naturally and therefore they would be prohibited from sale to another party?

For a sustained supply from State-owned (Crown) Lands, Yep......Re-reading my post and thinking really hard about possible exceptions.............the only other exceptions might be for say "salvage" of mounds damaged/removed during road construction/maintenence.....and then, definitely only from State Forest.........these would amount to very few, and still very unlikely to be officially permitted......and again, this would not sustain any regularity of supply..........

PS: the region of NSW where these termites are being sold fall within my patch of State Forest, so I'm well aware that there are no permits issued for termite collection from State Forest.

Knowing the culture and Acts/Regulations which apply to National Park/Nature Reserve and State Conservation Areas, there is no legal mechanism to allow for "materials" (eg, plants, wood, firewood, gravel, rock, animals, fish, reptiles, .....etc, etc)to be collected/removed/extracted from these lands at all. National Parks do almost no road construction, and relatively superficial road maintenance. Therefore not many mounds would be in harms way and hence available for recovery, even if there were a legal mechanism to allow it.

It may be that mounds are being collected from land being cleared for housing/industrial estates/roads...if so, thats a great way to salvage a useful, albeit niche commodity, but I'd doubt there would be any continuity of supply through these means.

I just think that a "Dont Ask, Dont Tell" approach is the best one for us Finchos in termites .....and probably add to that........"Dont Sell"

Mortisha wrote:They could be imported too

Agreed Mortisha.........doubt that would make anyone any money though.....

No problem mickw the Japanese can harvest Whales for scientific research and eat what they find after testing . Termites should not be a problem .

Again, agree, it sucks.......Just being the messenger so that so many of us dont get screwed by over regulation.


I'll give the business a call tomorrow, its probable that they might not be aware of the potential for trouble.

Thanks for the inside story mickw forewarned is forearmed

I would be dubious about the supply continuing, therefore i wouldnt rush out and buy this product.It may be in some cases , very difficult to swap birds back to other live food once they have termites, if they have young at the time it may end in disaster.However if some enterprising person were to set up in the Territory i dont think supply or harvesting would really be a problem, just the logistics of freighting the things at a reasonable price.

The roadside between Carnarvon and Exmouth in WA is not exactly short of termite mounds either.
LML

Just to let you all know I rang and had a good chat to the owner........Its all from Private property and pretty well legit....he is going to double check that his harvesting most definietly complies. I can assure you he is a very conscientious operator, understands the law, and really is only trying to provide a service.....there's not alot of money in it.

Incidentally we both agreed that it would be unfortunate if everyone got on the bandwagon and thought they'd make their millions through harvesting termites. There could one day be a regulatory response.

Anyway, back to work everyone......this all reminds me,.......I need to pick up another nest ......

I know Perth zoo has a termite colony that breeds large enough numbers to feed the captive numbats they have there... I've always wondered how difficult it would be to do though!!

spanna wrote:
I know Perth zoo has a termite colony that breeds large enough numbers to feed the captive numbats they have there... I've always wondered how difficult it would be to do though!!

I stand corrected........I knew I probably overstepped my knowledge base with that comment and that somewhere, someone would have a colony they were cultivating ....... You're right though spanna, it'd be pretty hard and you'd need a bit of space............

Well played, mick.

I'm with DB on this one as far as getting them hooked on termites and then the supply runs out.There is certain times of the year when they all sprout wings and fly to re-establish new colonies,other times when it is really cold they head deep under ground and are hard to get at,meaning completely destroying the mound.
IMO,if you are going to feed termites,you need to do the hard work your self and not get lazy and and rely on purchasing an unreliable source as a lot of breeders out there don't realise just how addictive finches are to termites and how hard it is to break the addiction. Craig