Background
This refuge has emerged from a community need for animal and bird rescue and rehabilitation. The project funding relies entirely on volunteers and donations to operate. Your kind support will help to improve the quality of life for 100's of native animals and birds for future generations to enjoy, not just as extinct exhibits in museum.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Our Wonderful History
Well, not so much about Minton Farm's history, but rather it's a bit of history about how the native animals of Australia were first treated by early settlers to Australia.
When the English settlers first arrived in Australia, they found the country overrun by huge rats. Horrified, they set about eradicating them by clubbing them to death. These 'huge rates' were in fact Potoroos, now extinct in the wild!
In the 1920's a delicacy in the market for feasting on as Sunday roast, sold in bundles of one dozen, were brush-tailed Bettongs. Then as numerous as rabbits, now sadly extinct in South Australia in the wild.
These marvelous "rat kangaroos" actually plant their own gardens. They bite seeds to crack their outer shell to assist with germination, dig a small hole and stomp the earth down with their hind feet. In a few weeks they are able to reap the fruits of their harvest. I had a beautiful crop of sunflowers that they planted in my front yard.
What a sad track record we have to follow.
Today, in our wisdom and superior knowledge, we treat our most intelligent marsupial as vermin to be eradicated - the brush tail possum is a classic example. Have we not learned anything from our ancestors' mistakes? Will we be shocked when this wonderful animal is also declared extinct long with the hairy nosed wombats, the rainbow lorikeets, etc??
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Our Wonderful History
Well, not so much about Minton Farm's history, but rather it's a bit of history about how the native animals of Australia were first treated by early settlers to Australia.
When the English settlers first arrived in Australia, they found the country overrun by huge rats. Horrified, they set about eradicating them by clubbing them to death. These 'huge rates' were in fact Potoroos, now extinct in the wild!
In the 1920's a delicacy in the market for feasting on as Sunday roast, sold in bundles of one dozen, were brush-tailed Bettongs. Then as numerous as rabbits, now sadly extinct in South Australia in the wild.
These marvelous "rat kangaroos" actually plant their own gardens. They bite seeds to crack their outer shell to assist with germination, dig a small hole and stomp the earth down with their hind feet. In a few weeks they are able to reap the fruits of their harvest. I had a beautiful crop of sunflowers that they planted in my front yard.
What a sad track record we have to follow.
Today, in our wisdom and superior knowledge, we treat our most intelligent marsupial as vermin to be eradicated - the brush tail possum is a classic example. Have we not learned anything from our ancestors' mistakes? Will we be shocked when this wonderful animal is also declared extinct long with the hairy nosed wombats, the rainbow lorikeets, etc??
