CASE IN POINT: Business case reveals Parks Victoria’s Serendip stance

A BUSINESS case for the future of Serendip Sanctuary has revealed Parks Victoria always opposed keeping a captive breeding program at the site, regardless of any consultation or levels of public support.

Parks Victoria quietly started removing native exhibits from the reserve in mid-2022.

Lara Care Group has been campaigning for months to have the animals returned to enhance the sanctuary’s appeal as a tourist attraction.

The group successfully applied through freedom of information legislation for the business case for the You Yangs Precinct.

Serendip Sanctuary – which lies within the You Yangs Precinct – has had a captive breeding program for threatened and endangered species since 1960, and this opened to the public in 1991.

Consultation on the You Yangs Precinct Master Plan began in 2019, with public feedback provided in 2020 and a consultation report on the draft master plan released in 2021.

This consultation report noted 90 per cent of written submitters and 22 per cent of survey respondents wanted the captive breeding program retained.

Prepared for Parks Victoria and published in February 2020, the business case recommends, “based on directions from Parks Victoria”, removing “excess fencing and enclosures” at the sanctuary including “captive breeding holding areas, tunnels, exhibits, aviary, existing hides and fencing”.

Lara Care Group president Barry White said Parks Victoria did not maintain Serendip Sanctuary adequately, and the business case now revealed Parks Victoria’s real intentions.

“The Business Case explains why there was virtually no reference to wildlife at Serendip and You Yangs in the 2022 Master Plan – because Parks Victoria had already made the decision to remove Serendip’s native birds and animals on the Wildlife Walk before the public consultation/engagement process started.

“Parks Victoria subsequently used all sorts of excuses why this was necessary, ironically, including their failure to maintain the infrastructure, and then animal welfare issues, which were subsequently discovered to be a ruse.

“The fact is they used an argument that their failure to maintain and invest in the site as the reason for removing the wildlife in the first place, despite ongoing visitor reviews which highlighted that this was the main reason for visiting.

“While there is a Stakeholder Reference Group to provide oversight of projects, priorities and funding allocation [in the Master Plan], the reality is that Parks Victoria has set its agenda, which it will try to enforce.

“In essence, this process is a sham.”

Parks Victoria acting district manager Stuart Lardner said Parks Victoria would continue to support the future of Serendip Sanctuary “and the role it plays in endangered species conservation, in education and as a place to see free-roaming wildlife”.

“The You Yangs Precinct Master Plan was developed through extensive community consultation over two years.”

“The plan reflects the importance of giving visitors the opportunity to see wildlife in an open park environment.”

Ahead of the 2022 state election, Lara MP Ella George committed $11 million towards the projects in the You Yangs Precinct Master Plan.

Ms George had not responded to questions as this newspaper went to print.