Australian Big Cats – www.australian-big-cats
Letter to the DPI 2/3/07
Hi ******* *************
******** informed you on the 2/2/06 that the canid DNA dog yes/no test from ***** *********** came back negative for the Wallaby predation you sampled for us.I emailed you on the 19/2/06 and the 1/3/06 but you never bothered to respond.As of the 2/3/06 has anyone from the DPI contacted ******* *******.?I understand you are busy so can you please tell me the DPI employee I should deal with, because this is going nowhere.Can you please tell us when the saliva samples (from the wallaby kill)will be sent to the US for identification of possible felid species.?Who is doing this test in the US.?******* ********** in the US. One of our samples has been sitting in the US for nearly 14 months, after claiming they had a "1 month turn around " so we hope it is someone reliable.Can they do the initial test looking for a fcatus marker as we believe that a large sized fcatus is more probable than an exotic felid.!If its an exotic..then so be it.We think it could be in the same size range as the fcatus in the ********* footage.You told Channel 9, off camera, that the animal in the ************* footage stood around 500mm.!Can you please tell us what day the saliva samples will be sent to ******* ********* for testing against fox dna marker.?Regarding pug prints examined by Sandy Ingelby at the Australian museum.I assume the DPI accepts her conclusion.Dr Ingleby specialises in Northern Nailtail Wallaby, Spectacled Hare-wallaby,White-footed Dunnart and Grevy's Zebra.Dr Ingleby appears to have no interest, no knowledge and no background with any form of felids.!If thats the case, I have a copy of a letter by Ronald Strahan , Biologist from the Australian Museum circa about 1987, along with D.P.Edwards from Taronga park who both examined a collection of casts from Victoria.The point being the felids do not recognise state borders.Strahan whose conclusion was "...whilst accepting some casts as being indeterminate, we accept many as probably from a puma."D.P.Edwards said Felid and he had a background in big cats.We were told by the N.S.W DPI that ******* ********* was testing for the possible presence of exotic felids and for us to provide samples to her for this work.I have an email from ********* stating that "I am unaware that the department of Ag was relying on me for the id of exotics.Could you let me know who I should contact in the dept to let them know I am not competent enough for this reliance and my reasons for this decision."She wrote this after we tried a blind test on her abilities using panthera pardus samples and she failed.******* ********* and ******* *********** also failed the blind sample test.Who, from the DPI, arranged for ******* to test for an exotic predator.
The following organisations have made postive identification of large felid footprints taken from NSW and Victoria - Curator of Mammals- Melbourne Zoo,Denver Zoo, Texas A&M University, Institute of Veterinary Virology, University of Bern, Department of Zoology, Rhodes University.South Africa,zoologist, United Kingdom, African Lion Working Group , Instituto de Ecologia, UNAM Mexico.When you came to ********* place and looked at the scratch marks on the Angophora, you stated you couldnt recognise what had done this.I gave you a list of herpetologists who could not identify the culprit as well.You told us the unidentified felid "comes from the national park and is not our problem" and the national parks rep stated "this is happening outside then national park so its not our problem"Can you see the paradox there.?Why are we forced to work, unpaid, for the DPI doing the things your staff should be doing.?We have no trouble using any science model (which keeps being changed)you suggest, for examination of secondary evidence.But it appears that the DPI has no interest in any science, due to possible future budget/litigation concerns.
Thanks
Mike Williams
