PIVET Medical Centre to sponsor zoo numbat breeding program

22/11/98

Parents of Perth IVF children today lent their support to help the numbats at Perth Zoo breed families of their own.

Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes said today that the PIVET Medical Centre - a leader in IVF technology in Western Australia - had agreed to sponsor the Perth Zoo numbat breeding program.

Mrs Edwardes made the announcement at a special IVF baby party for the parents and their children, who resulted from the invitro fertilisation techniques refined by PIVET's Dr John Yovich and his team.

"PIVET's fertility specialists have helped many WA couples, and their support for the zoo now means some threatened WA mammals can enjoy a much brighter future as well," the Minister said.

The numbat, WA's mammal emblem, has been bred at Perth Zoo since 1993 and today is part of the zoo's Native Species Breeding Program. A recovery team led by the Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM) co-ordinates breeding and release programs for numbats.

"The zoo's breeding program is an integral part of the recovery plan for numbats," Mrs Edwardes said.

"Organisations like PIVET, which provide support through sponsorship, help ensure the future of some of our most loved, but threatened wildlife."

Numbats once ranged across southern Australia through to western New South Wales. They are now confined to isolated pockets in WA's South-West.

These numbats will be released back into the wild, thanks to CALM's successful Western Shield program. This program has resulted in the removal of predators such as the fox and feral cat from large areas of bush in order to allow native animals to breed.

In conjunction with CALM, six female and three male zoo-bred numbats will be released into the Dale Conservation Park east of Perth early next month.

Mrs Edwardes said Perth Zoo was a leader in involving the corporate sector in supporting its excellent conservation work.

"The partnership with PIVET shows how the corporate world can play a meaningful role in the conservation of species, particularly WA native species," she said.

Media contact: Nicole Trigwell 9421 7777