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Aggressive Reptile A Long Way From Home

A snappy North American turtle is just one of the creatures uncovered by a year-long Department of Sustainability and Environment operation targeting exotic reptiles.

By Department of Sustainability and Environment - 29th August 2005 - Back to News

DSE today assembled a menagerie of exotic wildlife found to have been kept and sold across Melbourne and Gippsland, concluding an investigative campaign code-named Operation Husky.

Also amongst the haul were three King Snakes, five Corn Snakes, three Boa Constrictors and 10 Red-eared Slider Turtles.

DSE worked closely with Victoria Police and the Commonwealth Department of Environment and Heritage on the operation. Government officers and police yesterday and today executed search warrants on the houses and business premises following the investigations. It is likely that formal charges will be laid after interviews with DSE and DEH investigators are concluded.

It is the first time a Common Snapping Turtle, native to North America, has been found in an illegal collection in Victoria.

DSE spokesman Keith Larner said the discovery of a Common Snapping Turtle was particularly alarming.

The Chelydra serpentina has powerful snapping jaws, a sharp, horny beak and a long tail. It can grow to nearly 50cm in length and weigh up to 38kg.

"The Common Snapping Turtle is an odious creature," Mr Larner said. "Establishment of the species here would be bad news for Australian wildlife.

"This turtle eats almost anything – plants, fish, frogs, insects, snakes, ducks and even small mammals. It is aggressive if disturbed on land, and has even been known to attack people."

The turtle’s few predators in North America are bears, coyotes and alligators. "Most of our native wildlife would be easy prey, rather than predators," Mr Larner said.

The operation also uncovered 10 Red-eared Slider Turtles, a species that has reached worrying levels in the wild in Queensland. Also native to North America, the sliders grow to about 30cm in length and lay up to 70 eggs per year. These reptiles have been exported around the world and have become a major environmental pest.

Unlike our native turtles, red-eared sliders Trachemys scripta elegans have yellow strips on their faces and red stripes behind each eye.

"We are just starting to see these turtles in Victoria and the fear is that we will soon face the problem Queensland has," Mr Larner said. "Like the Common Snapping Turtles, sliders are aggressive, they prey on our native wildlife including frogs and fish, and they breed rapidly.

"As part of the operation we found both adults and juveniles, which tells us that people are not only keeping these pests but breeding them with the likely intention of selling them to others."

Where they came from:

• Business premises in Preston – one Common Snapping Turtle
• Business premises in Noble Park – five Red-eared Slider Turtles
• House in Noble Park – four Red-eared Slider Turtles
• House in Berwick – two Boa Constrictors, four Corn Snakes
• House in Endeavour Hills – one Boa Constrictor and one Red-eared Slider Turtle
• House in Churchill, Gippsland – three King Snakes, one Corn Snake

Mr Larner said the keeping of exotic reptiles amphibians was prohibited under State and Federal law. Convictions for offences attract fines of up to $110,000 or jail sentences of up to five years.

DSE is in discussions with the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service and DEH on the quarantine risk of the snakes and turtles. "Generally there is a high risk of disease associated with exotic reptiles," Mr Larner said. "We will not risk infecting our native populations."

Anyone who has information about possession or trading of exotic reptiles should call 136 186. Callers may be anonymous.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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