Why are dumbo rats ilegeal in austrulia?

They are, but why? makes no sence to me at all. I dont live there, but it still makes me wonder...Why are dumbo rats ilegeal in austrulia?
Australia is an island nation like New Zealand and as such, they are very cautions about importing new species of animals. (They are also extremely strict about bringing in outside foods because they may carry agricultural diseases.) In the past, animals were introduced incautiously into the country by immigrants and they caused a great deal of damage either because the animal introduced was a threat to native species and the ecosystem or because the introduced species had no natural predator and bred until the population became a threat to food sources etc.





New Zealand has a vivid example if this in the possum that was introduced there. There are no native land species and no predator to the possum and as a result, you cannot drive 10 feet in some parts of New Zealand without seeing a dead possum in the road.





While there may be no harm in Dumbo Rats, the laws remain strict because once a species escapes and enters the natural habitat, there is no way to get the genie back into the bottle.





EDIT: Again - the laws are very strict. They are another variety of rattus norvegicus, however they do have physiological and temperamental differences. The concern is that some time down the road those minor differences could cause a disruption in the natural ecosystem which is very delicately balanced. In addition, loosening those restrictions for one variant will open the door to the restrictions being applied subjectively on the approval of a reviewer for other species (thus subject to human error) and again, once a non-native species or variant of a species has been introduced and gotten a foothold, there is almost no way to ever effectively remove them from the ecosystem and undo the damage done. Australia takes the prudent stance of better safe than sorry.