Wildlife officers from the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI) have rescued and released dozens of protected birds which were being kept illegally by a Gympie resident.
In November last year, DESI received a report about a significant number of native birds being kept on the resident’s property.
Wildlife officers attended the house and confirmed the unauthorised take of 28 wild birds including rainbow lorikeets, pale-headed rosellas and king parrots.
The offender has been fined $2322 and the birds were immediately released back into their natural habitat.
DESI wildlife officer Chris Heckathorn said the birds were assessed as being in suitable condition for release.
“It’s quite uncommon for an individual to have caught so many different types of native birds from the wild, in fact this is the largest number that I’ve personally found to have been captured in my 10 years with the department.” he said.
“As Wildlife Officers we do appreciate the role the public has in being our eyes and ears in detecting and reporting illegal activity, and it really is just a matter of time before people doing the wrong thing are found out and reported.”
The take of protected wildlife without an authority is prohibited under the Nature Conservation Act 1992.
The maximum penalty for a Class 2 offence is $154,800 or one year imprisonment.
If a person rescues a protected animal but is not a licensed rehabilitator they must take the animal to a vet, conservation officer or licensed wildlife carer within 72 hours of taking the animal into care.
People interested in keeping native wildlife are advised to visit the department’s website for further information: www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/wildlife-permits
