The Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm has said he wants to allow private ownership of native wildlife, to prevent species becoming extinct.

The senator said he did not believe taxpayers could effectively save native wildlife through national parks, saying 11% of Australia’s native mammals had become extinct in the past 200 years.



In a speech to parliament, he argued species 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.

“The long-term survival of at least some Australian animals is assured because they are kept as household pets in other countries,” the senator said.

Senator David Leyonhjelm said keeping nocturnal animals posed more of a problem. Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAP

Leyonhjelm questioned the logic of allowing people to own animals that could 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 said.

He admitted there could be problems with owning some native wildlife, especially those that were nocturnal. “That might require us adjusting our own sleeping patterns to enjoy them,” he said.



Leyonhjelm said he did not want animals taken from the wild, but to be bred specifically as pets.



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