Protecting Endangered Species: Australia needs to have better system for protecting animals

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Australia has lost more mammals to extinction than any other country. Conservation groups fear even more endangered species are at risk, after news of job cuts at the government agency charged with saving animals. They say it points to a bigger problem when it comes to the country's efforts to protect its unique creatures. Greg Navarro has the story.

Wildlife enthusiast John Cann knows it's tough to describe the experience.

JORN CANN WILDLIFE ENTHUSIAST "Words cannot express how I felt."

Of ending a 20 year search for a creature so rare that it can only be found in one remote Australian waterway.

JORN CANN WILDLIFE ENTHUSIAST "I just sat there and waited and it came back up again and sure enough, was a Mary River turtle. I'd never seen a big one before in my life."

The Mary River turtle, with its distinctive green algae mohawk - was recently added to a global list of endangered species.

JORN CANN WILDLIFE ENTHUSIAS "It'll come back. But, I think it needs government funding to save these critters."

EVAN QUARTERMAIN, HEAD OF PROGRAMS HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA "There was a recovery plan prioritized for that species and a working group developed with a fair bit of money poured into sorting that out but, here we are ten years down the track and there has been no draft even released."

Some of Australia's unique creates have become a part of the country's identity - and economy - helping to drive tourism. But there is a growing concern that not enough is being done to protect them. University of Sydney lecturer Thomas Newsome studies the impacts that humans have on animals, to help create conservation strategies.

THOMAS NEWSOME, LECTURER UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY "Just recently the federal government has reduced or pulled the funding from our major flagship long term monitoring campaigns in Australia and these are projects that have been going for almost 30 years now."

Half of the world's mammal extinctions have occurred in Australia. The loss of 30 known animals in the last 30 years, including the Tasmanian Tiger. Introduced predators such as cats and foxes are the biggest threats.

GREG NAVARRO TOOWOOMBA "Development, which leads to habitat loss, is another huge contributing factor. In fact, scientists say the amount of land clearing currently taking place here in Queensland is on par with what's happening in the Amazon."

EVAN QUARTERMAIN, HEAD OF PROGRAMS HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA "As humans have spread around the world, we've seen extinctions all over the place."

Efforts are underway to cull feral cats and protect several endangered species - including the eastern quoll and Tasmanian devil. But conservation groups say not enough is being done to stop development in fragile ecosystems.

EVAN QUARTERMAIN, HEAD OF PROGRAMS HUMANE SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA "We are continually faced by lobby groups who oppose this sort of environmental regulation who claim the it is green tape and tying up economic development - that is simply not the case."

Scientists say Australia needs to have a better system of protecting its animals, otherwise, they warn - fewer searches like John Cann's will end in success.

Greg Navarro, CGTN, Toowoomba.