Who We Are

In response to a growing need for a body committed to wildlife management in Australia and New Zealand, the Australasian Wildlife Management Society (AWMS) was established in May, 1988 (view constitution) when it held its first conference in Canberra. AWMS actively encourages the development, dissemination and adoption of applied scientific research in wildlife management.

AWMS is a professional society that promotes the study and application of scientific wildlife management in the Australasian region, with members from Australia, New Zealand, and around the world.  Members come from all sectors of wildlife management and a wide range of institutions and private organisations and include wildlife research scientists, wildlife managers, wildlife practitioners, policy developers, educators and students.

AWMS aims to influence policy and management decisions through the provision of clear, explicit and pragmatic advice on options for wildlife management and associated risks.

Our logo: where did it come from and what does it mean?

Our original logo had a kangaroo and a kiwi, icons shared by many institutions. In 1992, a competition was held among AWMS members to design a unique logo that encapsulated the interests of Australian and New Zealand members.

The general design concept of footprints on sand was suggested by a number of members, with Ms Toni Lumsden entering the chosen design. This has been AWMS logo since 1993.  The footprints are those of a brush-tailed possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). This animal was chosen because it is present in both countries, and embodies the complexities of wildlife management in Australasia. Brush-tailed possums are native to Australia, where they are protected and conserved, but can be a pest in urban areas.  They were introduced to New Zealand for their fur and have since become a major pest of agricultural and environmental values. Possums are highly adaptable, living in urban and extensive environments, which imposes another layer of complexity on their management. Being primarily nocturnal, footprints on sand are often the only evidence of possum presence, and these can be used to index their abundance to evaluate management programs.

In these ways, our logo captures the objective of AWMS to promote the study and application of scientific management to wildlife in the Australasian region: perhaps the changing shades from bottom left to upper right represent scientific enlightenment.