Senator urges native animals as pets

Forget cats and dogs. Imagine picking up a baby Tasmanian devil or wombat at the local pet shop.

That's what Liberal Democrat David Leyonhjelm wants, mainly to stop Australia's native animals becoming extinct.

The senator doesn't believe taxpayers can effectively save native wildlife through national parks, citing Australia's 11 per cent extinction record.

He reckons they have disappeared because they were owned by everyone but belonged to no-one.

As a result there was no incentive for anyone to keep them safe from predators.

Senator Leyonhjelm has a problem with Australians owning animals that can kill native wildlife but not allowing people to protect the prey.

"Just as dogs and cats are in no danger of dying out, the same will be true if native animals are privately owned."

He admits there could be issues with owning some native wildlife, especially those that are nocturnal.

"That might require us adjusting our own sleeping patterns to enjoy them," he said.

The Liberal Democrat doesn't want animals taken from the wild, rather bred specifically as pets.

People from overseas could legally own sugar-gliders, blue tongue lizards and certain breeds of wallaby, he said.

The Australian Greens said Senator Leyonhjelm's suggestion was "ludicrous".

"Native animals have specific care requirements and their carers require training and permits," Senator Lee Rhiannon said.

"Practically, it would be very costly and difficult to police people taking native animals from the wild to keep them as pets."