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Bitter thylacine slammed....

Tasmanian tiger reward slammed
March 24, 2005 - 5:09PM

A $1.25 million reward offered for a live Tasmanian tiger would be
impossible to win, wildlife biologist Nick Mooney said.

Critics have slammed the reward, offered by The Bulletin magazine
earlier this week, saying the money would be better spent preserving
the Tasmanian devil, currently under threat from facial tumour disease.

But it seems The Bulletin did not completely ignore the devil - it's in
the detail.

To win the $1.25 million, entrants must legally capture a live
Tasmanian tiger, obeying all laws and legislation.

Mr Mooney - a wildlife biologist for the Tasmanian Department of
Primary Industries, Water and Environment - said scientific permits
would not be issued for the sake of a competition.

"They can't win because one of the conditions is to do it legally. If
they do it illegally and they haven't got the permits, well they can't
claim the money," he said.

"(The Bulletin has) set the bar very high ... we won't issue permits
for people to catch an animal, certainly not on the basis of satisfying
public curiosity."
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Mr Mooney said if the magazine was serious about proving the existence
of the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, it could have relied on
photographic evidence.

"I think it's just trivialised the issue," he said.

The Bulletin's offer prompted the announcement of another reward.

Tour company Thylacine Expeditions is offering $1.75 million to any
client who photographs a Tasmanian tiger while on one of their trips.

Expedition leader Stewart Malcolm said the reward was a promotional
gimmick to raise awareness of Tasmania's protected wildlife.

Clients must forfeit the photos to claim the reward.

Garry Linnell, editor-in-chief of The Bulletin, said the magazine had
spent weeks with lawyers defining the competition rules and he believed
there were ways to legally win the money.

"It's my competition, it's my rules and if (the critics) want to have
their own competition, let them," he said.

"Yes, it is tough but you know what? It's $1.25 million at stake."

Mr Linnell denied the competition could further jeopardise the
thylacine's chances of survival, if it exists.

"Our advice has been that to have a sustainable population in the wild
you need at least a minimum of four to five hundred animals," he said.

"If it's there, there's got to be four or five hundred out there. There
isn't just one ageing, arthritic Tasmanian tiger walking through the
forest."

Competition registration opened on Wednesday and Mr Linnell has already
received photographs claimed to be of Tasmanian tigers.

The photographs are now being analysed but Mr Linnell, who is
anticipating a few hoax submissions before the competition's June 30
deadline, said he remained sceptical.

"At the end of the day, there's $1.25 million on the line here. We've
got the cash. We're quite realistic about that. We wanted to make sure
it is a genuine reward," he said.

The competition has prompted concern in the Tasmanian community,
particularly of its effects on other wildlife.

Environment Minister Judy Jackson said an influx of people hunting for
thylacines in the wilderness would put other species at risk.

"What I'd suggest to The Bulletin to celebrate their 125th anniversary
is to ... offer that money for scientific research here in Tasmania for
other species that are threatened, such as the devil," she said.

The Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine, was officially declared extinct in
1986 but has not been reliably sighted since the last one died in
captivity in Hobart in 1936.

=A9 2005 AAP



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