horsesrule
Well-Known Member
Lol
Another one busted there must be so many illegals now in Aus.
I think its time to rethink exotics otherwise this situation will only get worse.
$800 fine for snake collection in Delahey
DSE compliance officer Drew Wilson with the seized olive python from a Delahey property
A DELAHEY woman has been busted for keeping exotic and deadly snakes illegally in her parents’ home.
According to the Department of Sustainability and Environment, it’s the latest on a long list of similar cases in the western suburbs.
Drita Getaj, 20, of Frost Drive, was fined $800 and $1023 in costs at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court last week for having protected wildlife without a permit and keeping a boa constrictor.
DSE officers seized a native death adder and olive python along with the South American boa constrictor from the house in October last year.
The boa constrictor and python were both infected with the highly contagious inclusion body disease, fatal to Australian pythons because of their lack of immunity.
Senior investigator Keith Larner said the western suburbs had the highest levels of illegal exotic wildlife trade in Victoria.
Offenders were typically enthusiasts whose habits had got out of control.
Most offenders (70 per cent) had wildlife licences and should know there was"no excuse” for keeping exotic reptiles, he said.
Thirty-eight per cent of people caught with illegal wildlife were also in possession of cannabis and 17 per cent had prohibited weapons.
The DSE urges anyone in possession of illegal wildlife to hand them in to authorities.
“We’d rather they hand them in voluntarily without having to go to court,” Mr Larner said.
There was a danger that introduced reptiles would become pests in the environment like the rabbit and fox.
North American corn snakes and red-eared slider turtles, already spotted in Melbourne’s waterways, were aggressively competitive species, a threat to native animals.
Common snapping turtles which could bite a person’s hand or foot off could also adapt, he said.
Another one busted there must be so many illegals now in Aus.
I think its time to rethink exotics otherwise this situation will only get worse.
$800 fine for snake collection in Delahey
DSE compliance officer Drew Wilson with the seized olive python from a Delahey property
A DELAHEY woman has been busted for keeping exotic and deadly snakes illegally in her parents’ home.
According to the Department of Sustainability and Environment, it’s the latest on a long list of similar cases in the western suburbs.
Drita Getaj, 20, of Frost Drive, was fined $800 and $1023 in costs at the Sunshine Magistrates’ Court last week for having protected wildlife without a permit and keeping a boa constrictor.
DSE officers seized a native death adder and olive python along with the South American boa constrictor from the house in October last year.
The boa constrictor and python were both infected with the highly contagious inclusion body disease, fatal to Australian pythons because of their lack of immunity.
Senior investigator Keith Larner said the western suburbs had the highest levels of illegal exotic wildlife trade in Victoria.
Offenders were typically enthusiasts whose habits had got out of control.
Most offenders (70 per cent) had wildlife licences and should know there was"no excuse” for keeping exotic reptiles, he said.
Thirty-eight per cent of people caught with illegal wildlife were also in possession of cannabis and 17 per cent had prohibited weapons.
The DSE urges anyone in possession of illegal wildlife to hand them in to authorities.
“We’d rather they hand them in voluntarily without having to go to court,” Mr Larner said.
There was a danger that introduced reptiles would become pests in the environment like the rabbit and fox.
North American corn snakes and red-eared slider turtles, already spotted in Melbourne’s waterways, were aggressively competitive species, a threat to native animals.
Common snapping turtles which could bite a person’s hand or foot off could also adapt, he said.
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