The question then is whether this rule is doing a good job of protecting
wildlife and habitats, or is doing more harm than good by making it harder for
people to become interested in the natural world.
I suspect that, given that kids seem to be able to collect shells, etc, on the
beach unchallenged, it's not doing much harm, if any. Someone please correct me
if they know of any cases where innocent people have been charged.
Simon quoted the case of DSE chasing kids who climbed onto a dead whale. Is
that this case:
http://www.3aw.com.au/blogs/breaking-news-blog/outrage-over-boys-whale-stunt/20120719-22bjk.html
If so, the fact that one of them is in a surfing pose on the whale makes me
wonder how scientific his interest in it is. I also think that had they not
photographed themselves on it, let alone posting the photos on a public
website, nothing would have come of it, and that they could have examined the
whale as much as they liked without problems.
Peter Shute
> -----Original Message-----
> From:
> On Behalf Of
> Carl Clifford
> Sent: Friday, 7 December 2012 12:42 PM
> To: Stephen Ambrose
> Cc: <>
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Threatened species and the OBP
>
> Stephen,
>
> Peter is correct in surmising that the reason that one can
> not legally pick up eggs, feathers, shell etc, is to do with
> prosecutions. Leaving open the "I just found it on the
> ground" loophole, would make prosecution of traffickers very
> difficult, as the onus of proof still lies with those
> prosecuting in this country. It is similar to reason why we
> have the laws on "theft by finding".
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Clifford
>
> On 07/12/2012, at 11:14, "Stephen Ambrose"
> <> wrote:
>
> > I'm sure that there will be an environment bureaucrat from an
> > Australian government department will answer Peter's question. But
> > Denise's comments about picking up dead snakes reminds me
> of another
> > anecdote that I read a few weeks ago.
> >
> > The University of Western Australia celebrates its 100th
> anniversary
> > in February 2013. As part of the celebrations leading up to that
> > event, anecdotes from past and present staff and students of the
> > university have been published on UWA's centenary website.
> >
> > One anecdote, written by one of the late Professor Bert Main's Ph.D
> > graduates from the 1950s, relates to Bert's dead snake experience.
> > Bert Main was a Professor of Zoology at UWA and was
> legendary for his
> > contributions to Australian zoology and conservation,
> particularly in the 1950s, 60s & 70s.
> > I was fortunate to be a zoology student at UWA towards the end of
> > Bert's career in the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. The anecdote
> > relates to a zoology class excursion to Rottnest Island,
> off the coast
> > of Perth. Bert and his class of students were walking
> along a track
> > when they came across a dead Western Dugite (a venomous snake).
> > Always keen to seize an opportunity, Bert picked up the
> dead snake to
> > show the students the locations and structure of the
> snake's fangs.
> > Yes, the snake was dead, but when Bert prised opened the
> jaws of the
> > snake with his hands, the jaws snapped shut, purely as a reflex
> > action, the fangs sinking into one of Bert's fingers.
> According to the anecdote, the venom made Bert seriously
> > ill and he had to be hospitalised.
> >
> > So, I suspect that Peter is right about government policies that
> > restrict the collection of dead animals and animal materials. But
> > there are also occasions when handling dead animals might be
> > dangerous. The dugite that Bert Main handled had probably not been
> > dead long if the jaw muscles and ligaments were still reflexive and
> > the venom was still potent. But a lot of road kills that members of
> > the public might find are usually quite fresh too.
> >
> > Cheers,
> > Stephen
> >
> > Dr Stephen Ambrose
> > Director
> > Ambrose Ecological Services Pty Ltd
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:
> > On Behalf Of Peter
> > Shute
> > Sent: Thursday, 6 December 2012 1:13 PM
> > To: 'Denise Goodfellow'; 'Simon Mustoe';
> > ; 'Birding Aus'
> > Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Threatened species and the OBP
> >
> > I assume that this policy that you can't even pick up a shell or
> > feather is intended to simplify prosecution of those who
> kill animals
> > for their feathers, skins, teeth, etc. Can anyone please
> verify that?
> >
> > I've often heard stories (mainly here) of people being
> threatened like
> > this, but are the threats ever carried out when it's
> obvious there's
> > not really anything untoward going on?
> >
> > Peter Shute
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From:
> >> On Behalf
> Of Denise
> >> Goodfellow
> >> Sent: Thursday, 6 December 2012 12:06 PM
> >> To: Simon Mustoe; ; Birding Aus
> >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Threatened species and the OBP
> >
> >> The next day a senior ranger, whose son happened to be in Rowan's
> >> class, rang. He had two messages for me: a) It was the
> Conservation
> >> Commission's job to teach kids about snakes, and b) I had
> broken the
> >> law in handling the dead animals, and I could be prosecuted.
> > ===============================
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