Authorities to Control Wildlife issued
The number of Authorities to Control Wildlife (ATCWs) issued in Victoria varies each year. It can depend on changing environmental conditions such as rainfall and its impacts on food and water availability for wildlife.
Wherever possible, the Conservation Regulator advocates non-lethal management of wildlife. Where non-lethal techniques are ineffective or impractical, lethal control may be necessary.
Not all non-lethal controls require an ATCW, for example installing fencing or netting to keep wildlife out of an area where they may be causing damage or removing old nests when there are no eggs or nesting birds present.
However, there are some non-lethal control options which do require an ATCW. Examples include trapping and relocating wildlife, deliberate use of noise, water or smoke to disrupt normal behaviours such as roosting or ushering macropods out of an area.
The table below describes all ATCWs issued between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023.
| Lethal control | Non-lethal control | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of ATCWs issued | 2499 | 80 |
Each calendar year, a summary of all ATCWs issued (by species) in Victoria is published.
These have been broken into lethal and non-lethal control for 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. You can view the summaries here:
2023 ATCW annual data(opens in a new window)
2009-2019 ATCW annual data
Marine mammal tour permits issued
Permits to conduct commercial tours with whales, dolphins and at designated seal colonies are issued under Division 2 of the Wildlife Act 1975.
| Permit type | Number of permits issued 2020/21 | Number of permits issued 2021/22 | Number of permits issued 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whale watching (vessel) tour | 6 | 3 | 6 |
| Seal tour | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Whale swim tour | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Whale watching (aircraft) tour | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wildlife import export permits issued
Permits to import or export wildlife into or out of Victoria are issued under section 50 of the Wildlife Act 1975. These permits are not renewable.
| Permit type | Number of permits issued 2020/21 | Number of permits issued 2021/22 | Number of permits issued 2022/23 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import | 852 | 985 | 824 |
| Export | 697 | 589 | 598 |
Wildlife licences issued
Wildlife licences are issued under section 22 of the Wildlife Act 1975 and are issued for either one or three years.
The table below describes the number of new licence applications approved and the number of existing licences renewed between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023
| Licence type | Number of new licences issued | Number of existing licences renewed |
|---|---|---|
Private Wildlife Licences | ||
| Basic Wildlife Licence | 3,613 | 3,222 |
| Wildlife Advanced Licence | 343 | 768 |
| Dingo Licence | 2 | 11 |
| Wildlife Specimen Licence* | 40 | 17 |
Commercial Wildlife Licences | ||
| Wildlife Controller Licence | 28 | 76 |
| Wildlife Dealer Licence | 12 | 27 |
| Wildlife Demonstrator Licence | 8 | 31 |
| Wildlife Displayer Licence | 1 | 17 |
| Wildlife Farmer Licence | 0 | 3 |
| Wildlife Processor Licence | 4 | 11 |
| Wildlife Taxidermist Licence | 2 | 21 |
* Wildlife specimen licences are issued for three years and currently have a common expiry date of 30 September 2022.
Wildlife shelter and foster carer authorisations issued
Authorisations to allow for the care, treatment and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife are issued under section 28A of the Wildlife Act 1975. The table below describes the number of new applications approved and the number of existing authorisations renewed between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021.
| Authorisation type | Number of new authorisations issued | Number if existing authorisations renewed |
|---|---|---|
| wildlife shelter | 25 | 291 |
| Wildlife foster carer | 34 | 201 |
Updated