Why is there a bilby breeding programme?
The bilby once inhabited approximately 70% of the Australian mainland. However, destruction of suitable habitat through land clearing, and competition and predation by introduced animal species such as rabbits, foxes and feral cats, has greatly reduced the wild bilby population. Bilbies are now restricted to a much smaller area, in the remote arid regions of northern Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. Classified as a Threatened Species, the Bilby is the subject of an Australia-wide Recovery Plan. The aim of the Recovery Plan is to increase the numbers of bilbies by captive breeding, and reintroduce them into suitable areas within their former range.
