General News
13 December, 2024
Fair Dinkum Fauna turns passion into a profession in wildlife education
Fair Dinkum Fauna talks about launching their wildlife education business.
Michael Lloyd grew up with his eyes glued to the TV watching "The Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin, and Neve Lawson had a childhood surrounded by birds and different wildlife.
So when a desire to share the beauty of animals with all generations led the pair to launch Fair Dinkum Fauna it was a shock to few.
"We've always been passionate about wildlife," said Mr Lloyd.
Mr Lloyd, studied a bachelor of veterinary and wildlife Science at Federation University and Ms Lawson has run her dog grooming business, Scruff Muttz since 2020.
"What we really want to do is open a zoo, but there's financial constraints involved," Mr Lloyd said.
"Neve actually had the suggestion that we should go mobile, start doing mobile demonstrations, and I thought that was a great idea.
"So we took that and ran with it."
Mr Lloyd describes Fair Dinkum Fauna as a 'wildlife education business'.
"We are a wildlife education business above all else," he said.
"We display native wildlife that people otherwise wouldn't be able to come in contact with.
"We go to schools, kinder, nursing homes, public events, agricultural shows; there's really no limit.
"Any way we can interact with people and educate them about wildlife, we're all there."
Mr Lloyd and Ms Lawson have found the process of running their own business "very rewarding".
"The best part is when you have younger kids come and they [get] excited to see a snake or a lizard or something they haven't seen before," said Ms Lawson.
One of the favourites among Fair Dinkum Fauna's animals is Reggie, a Rufous Bettong, a small marsupial.
"Most people don't know what that is, and when [they] see it, they [get] so excited, and they can all have a pat and they can interact with them," said Ms Lawson.
"It's just amazing to see their faces and see how excited they are, to see all these different animals."
Ms Lawson also mentions Bertha, the carpet python, as a crowd favourite.
Mr Lloyd said that the business has faced difficulties in its first year.
"There's certainly some challenges involved with getting the name out there because we're not full-time just yet," he said.
Scruff Muttz keeps Ms Lawson busy from Monday to Thursday, restricting the time the pair can spend on Fair Dinkum Fauna.
"Because we haven't got that seven-day-a-week availability just yet, it's quite hard to work around other people's schedules," Mr Lloyd said.
Mr Lloyd said the next step for Fair Dinkum Fauna is continuing to get their name out there and turning the business into a full-time endeavour.
"We're always keen to expand the collection," he said.
They want to expand the business's secondary aim of breeding animals like the Swift Parrott and the brushtail bettong.
"We're really keen on trying to breed critically endangered species," Mr Lloyd said.
But for now, Mr Lloyd and Ms Lawson are looking to expand their capacity by participating in more community events and interacting with more people.
"Growing day by day would be the biggest thing," said Mr Lloyd.
"Seeing how far we could take it."