Bush stone curlew in Five Dock

["Paul Burcher" <>]



Peter Andrew et al

 

It is illegal under the National parks & Wildlife Act to "harm" protected fauna in NSW see

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/npawa1974247/s98.html

 

Maximum penalty:

(a) 100 penalty units and, in a case where protected fauna is harmed, an additional 10 penalty units in respect of each animal that is harmed, or

(b) imprisonment for 6 months,

or both. (I think one penalty unit is $110.)

 

"harm" an animal (including an animal of a threatened species, population or ecological community) includes hunt, shoot, poison, net, snare, spear, pursue, capture, trap, injure or kill, but does not include harm by changing the habitat of an animal.

 

This doesn't include listed threatened species of which the BSC is listed as vulnerable.  In this case the Threatened Species Conservation Act is applicable

 

for which the Penalties are:

(a)  in respect of any endangered species, population or ecological community—2,000 penalty units or imprisonment for 2 years or both, and, in a case where an animal of any endangered species, population or ecological community is harmed, an additional 100 penalty units in respect of each animal that is harmed,

(b)  in respect of any vulnerable species—500 penalty units or imprisonment for 1 year or both, and, in a case where an animal of any vulnerable species is harmed, an additional 50 penalty units in respect of each animal that is harmed.

 

There are also offences under the Companion Animals Act.  So the owner is liable as far as I can see.

Paul