THE lives of eight healthy Tasmanian devils hang in the balance while two animal conservation groups argue over their future.
Tasmania Zoo operations manager Robert Warren said yesterday that the devils - which were given to the zoo by the Devils in Danger Foundation last June - might have to be euthanised.
He said that the zoo didn't have the financial capacity to keep them alive and it couldn't breed them because it didn't have any of the devils' records.
However, Devils in Danger Foundation owner Ray Green said he was unaware of what was happening with his devils and he would take them back before he would see them put down.
It cost $200 a week for the Tasmania Zoo to feed and care for the eight devils, which were all more than four years old, Mr Warren said.
The foundation hadn't contributed any money or assistance to the care of the devils since it gave them to the zoo eight months ago, he said.
Mr Warren said he believed that the zoo was only supposed to look after the devils for a short period.
``We were under the assumption that they (the foundation) were going to sit down and have a meeting literally straight after it (devils going to the zoo) and then offer us something to look after them but they haven't,'' he said.
``I'm just over this . . . what do I do with them? All I know is I have eight devils, four females and four males, that I got from Devils in Danger.
``I don't know their background, their history, their breeding: not a thing.''
Mr Green said he was surprised that the zoo would even think about putting down the devils and he would try to get in contact with it straight away. ``We wouldn't allow them to be put down - we'd go to the government and look at getting a permit and taking them back ourselves,'' he said.
``They (the zoo) wanted them desperately and they said that they'd take them and they were going to look after them until we worked something out, so I'm really shocked.''
Mr Warren said the most recent contact he'd had with the foundation was a phone call three weeks ago, when Mr Green asked if the zoo could film a devil husbandry DVD for the foundation to sell online. The zoo declined to film the DVD.
DEVILISH FACTS
1: The Devils in Danger Foundation was established in 2005.
2: It aimed to raise awareness of the devil facial tumour disease and boost the endangered population through its breeding program.
3: In June last year, all the foundation's devils were given to the Tasmania Zoo after its Something Wild wildlife sanctuary near Hobart - where the devils were being housed - shut down.
4: The foundation is still collecting donations, despite not having any devils.
5: It has made no financial contribution to the Tasmania Zoo for looking after its devils.
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