But the idea has been criticised on animal welfare grounds by wildlife protection groups, who are already dealing with sick kangaroos erroneously fed cows' milk and gliders dying after being fed fruit and bread. They argue native animals shouldn't become "another commodity".

The recommendation to loosen restrictions on pet ownership and licensing of native animals has been made by the Independent Biodiversity Legislation Review Panel, chaired by Neil Byron.

Dr Byron said there are three blue-tongue lizards living in his backyard and he believes "the government doesn't need to be involved".

A system has been proposed whereby low-risk native pets can be kept without a licence providing the owner knows how to keep them, and they are abundant in the wild.

"Skinks or blue-tongue lizards are the third most popular household pet in the United States. Rule No. 1 is don't feed them cat food," he said.

Higher risk native animals, such as koalas, will still require a licence to be kept, as would keeping larger numbers of animals.

"My late mother-in-law had a galah that walked up the road and into the aviary. I didn't realise she was a criminal for keeping a galah without a licence ... the bird felt safe there. Is that something the government should be spending time and money worrying about?" he said.

It is estimated the system would remove licence fees for 20,000 people.

But the NSW Wildlife and Information Rescue Service (WIRES) chief executive Leanne Taylor said widespread pet ownership of native animals would cause problems, as people often tired of pets and re-released them to the wild, where they are unable to survive. Many are brought to WIRES for care.

"We already see an issue with large native parrots such as sulphur-crested cockatoos and galahs as they live a long time and often outlive their owners," she said.

Pets released into bush areas where they don't naturally occur could put local species at risk and interfere with biodiversity, she said.

WIRES is particularly concerned that mammals would be included on the list.

"Widespread sale through pet shops is likely to lead to an oversupply as we have seen with domestic animals such as dogs and cats ... I don't believe there is an organisation currently positioned to deal with increasing numbers of unwanted native animals."

NSW Wildlife Council chairwoman, Audrey Koosmen, said the council had "grave concerns" about the plan.

Well-meaning members of the public were feeding lactose-intolerant kangaroo and wallaby joeys cow and soy milk, allowing children to play with them, and taking them to school for Show and Tell, she said.

"When they succumb to the effects of stress resulting from this unnatural environment, they are handed to wildlife rehab groups to save - usually at death's door," she said.

Ms Koosmen said there were few native animals that make successful pets, possibly with the exception of some birds.

"The council is adamant that it is an act of cruelty to take a native animal from a free living state and consign it to a lifetime of captivity in an enclosure," she said.

However, Rewilding Australia's Rob Brewster says quolls were legalised as kept animals in Victoria last year and encouraging them as pets would help the endangered species' survival.

Australian quoll better pet than cat, says expert

Mr Brewster argues that the eastern quoll, considered extinct on the mainland, is the perfect native substitute for the household cat.

"Most people work through the day - quolls sleep through the day, and they wake up when you come home," he says.

"The quoll spends a couple of hours being active, then wants a snooze by 10pm. They are really in synch with the modern man."

The size of a cat, weighing about 1.3 kilograms, quolls eat insects, grubs, birds and grasses.

"It's insane that in NSW you can buy a cat in a pet shop - the most destructive animal in Australia. But you go to prison if you have a pet quoll," he says.

Rewilding Australia, of which Mr Brewster is a member, has argued to the NSW government that quolls should be allowed to be kept under a licence system that ensures animal welfare is safeguarded. Victoria allowed quolls to be kept under licence last year.

Such small-scale breeding could help to save the species, which is dwindling in numbers in Tasmania.

Mr Brewster's research has found frequent mention of quolls in kitchens, local churches and chook yards on mainland Australia in 19th century newspaper reports. It is believed the introduction of the fox led to their demise.