The Australian Government has announced a national contribution, on behalf of the people of Australia, to mark the succession to the Danish throne by His Majesty King Frederik the 10th of Denmark, with Her Majesty Queen Mary.
A national contribution of $10,000 will go to registered charity Wildcare Tasmania to support its work towards conservation of the Tasmanian devil.
This contribution will directly support the charity’s research and trials to help the Tasmanian devils fight back from the devastating impact of a facial tumour disease.
An iconic Australian animal known internationally, the endangered Tasmanian devil is the world's largest surviving carnivorous marsupial, and found only in the wild on our island state of Tasmania.
This gift keeps with an emerging tradition of Australia marking significant royal occasions with support to the conservation of Australian native fauna.
Queen Mary of Denmark grew up in Tasmania, and the story of her union with King Frederik is one Australians have followed closely.
The Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark — which hosts Mary’s Australian Garden — has a neighbouring Tasmanian devil enclosure. Copenhagen Zoo received the devils as a gift from the Tasmanian Government in 2006 to celebrate the birth of The King and Queen’s first son Crown Prince Christian.
Registered charity, Wildcare Tasmania, supports the conservation of the Tasmanian devil by funding projects that:
- protect and manage wild devil populations
- care for and manage devils in captivity (insurance populations)
- support captive breeding and release programs
- research into disease prevention and cure.
For more information, and to support Wildcare Tasmania’s conservation efforts, visit: Wildcare Tasmania