Kookaburra

Saw this cool bird in a local pet store yesterday.
Thought I'd share a picture. It's a Kookaburra.
Kind of sad though. Sitting in a small closed cage.

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I've noticed that kookaburras at zoos often have cages that seem small to me. It may be that they don't really like to fly very much? Or it may just be that I've been to too many non-accredited zoos, and have become a bit desensitized to poor standards for animal housing.

wow look at that beak!

This actually bewilders me. I am amazed how much native australian fauna is actually available for sale as pets in the states. I have recently discovered you can also buy sugar gliders as a pet in the US. If someone put a kookaburra or sugar glider in a cage and tried to sell it in australia they would probably throw you in jail. They have just past a law in the state of Victoria the part of australia where I live that doesnt allow the sale of cats and dogs bred for the purposes of selling to be sold in pet shops. If a pet shop wants to sell a cat or a dog it can only be sourced from a rescue. So I can only imagine what they would do to you if you tried to sell a kookaburra. They are actually pretty cool if you live near them you can train wild ones to eat out of your hands magpies to. My dad would whistle and the magpies that lived in the park next door would fly to our front door and come inside and take food from dads hand. The kookaburras can get demanding if they get to comfortable around you though. Take food of your plate and ive seen them take sausages of a hot bbq also.


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Victoria and South Australia are the only Australian states which allow the keeping of native mammals as pets (with a permit, which I get the impression is easier to get in South Australia than Victoria). I've heard of people keeping both quolls and bandicoots in Australia, though I'd imagine wallabies are also kept in those states, seeing as they're another Australian animal which are easy to find in the US. Since most or all Australian states allow the keeping of native parrots; I wouldn't be surprised if some of them allowed other native birds as well. I've seen plenty of videos on YouTube of Australians keeping Australian magpies, though they might have permits for it or might be doing it illegally.

Im not saying it doesnt happen but I have never seen anyone with a quoll, a bandicoot or a wallaby as a pet. You would be amazed sometimes the relationship that country people are able to develop with native fauna allthough this would be unlikey to include a quoll as you never ever see them. Allthough building a relationship with magpies kookaburras roos and possums is something I have witnessed over my years. However i love pet shops and always have a look at them whenever I see one where ever I am. I have been doing this forty years and I have never seen these types of Australian fauna in a pet shop. Just australian parots budgies cockatoos etc. can you actually buy a wallaby in a pet shop in the US?


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Taken from the Victorion RSPCA website.


Most native animals are protected and cannot be kept as pets. Animals that can be kept as pets include native birds such as some parrots, cockatoos, finches, quail, doves, pigeons and ducks however these must never be caught from the wild (as this is illegal). Less common native animal pets are reptiles, some tortoises, lizards, crocodiles and snakes, some frogs, and some types of fish. Special permits are necessary to keep most Australian wildlife (e.g. kangaroos, possums, wombats, koalas, kookaburras, magpies, hawks, many reptiles, frogs and fish). Usually only zoos and fauna parks are given permits to hold these animals.



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You wouldn't find a quoll or anything you need a special permit for in a pet shop, I imagine. Texas has a larger population than the entirety of Australia, and allows quite a lot of animals as pets. And yet despite this, I know of only one pet shop specializing in exotic animals here, and they have decidedly mixed reviews. If you want to get an exotic, you go to a breeder, a broker, or if you're really lucky might be able to get a zoo surplus animal.

The RSCPA website is being disingenuous which doesn't surprise me, since they mostly work with cats and dogs, don't know much about other animals, and oppose people keeping them on account of their own ignorance. The operative word there is "usually," which suggests that private individuals are usually turned down, when I suspect it's more likely that private individuals simply don't apply. Here is a list of native mammals which can be kept as pets in Victoria. I cannot find a similar site listing the native birds which may be kept there.

Edit: I did some more digging. Here is the list of native animals which can be kept in Victoria with a basic wildlife license. And here is the list of animals which can be kept in Victoria with an advance wildlife license, somewhat unhelpfully it includes all the animals you can keep on a basic license. Both of these are non-commercial licenses to keep native animals. The laughing kookaburra and Australian magpie are on the basic list, so if you want one...

No I think Ill pass on getting a kookaburra or a maggie. But like I said you can develop a pretty cool relationship with both these birds with out putting them in a cage. Like I said about my dad and the maggies. The one I looked for on the lists you posted was an australian raven( essentially our crow) not on either list. Can you guys keep a crow. Im sure that there is a real good reason you cant keep them and I respect that so no one misunderstand me but I have always thought having a pet crow would be really cool. Like said Im not speaking of the realities here just the idea. Anyway do people keep crows in the states


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Scoza said:

Im sure that there is a real good reason you cant keep them

Click to expand...

I'm not. Chances are, it probably boils down to "nobody lobbied for them to be included when the law was written." It's why Massachusetts banned sugar gliders until 2013: they weren't specifically banned, it's just that Massachusetts bans almost everything with warm blood, and they just weren't popular enough to legalize until recently. It's why toucans are legal in MA but mousebirds aren't: though they have similar care requirements, at the time the law was written toucans were popular and mousebirds weren't.

In the US, the only native birds which may be kept private individuals, except for the purposes of wildlife rehabilitation and falconry, are some gamebirds. We can keep non-native birds with what's allowed depending on the state (Texas allows pretty much anything), but importing birds is tricky enough that with a few exceptions, we're limited to species already here. The only corvids I've heard of people keeping as pets in the US are African pied crows and black-crested magpie jays. I'm sure there are other, but those are the only ones I'm aware of.

you ask about roos in the US vid on fox news this morning
guy walking roo in Detroit.
damn shame to have these creatures
in the city

They showed a roo being walked on @midnight the other night. The lady taking the video was like "WHAT THE HELLLLLLLL" it was humerous. I believe the roo was hauling ass and the guy walking it was chasing after it hahahahahaha