Men fined over iIllegal snakes

– Rebecca Fraser
AN Endeavour Hills man and a former Berwick man have been fined over the possession of illegal exotic reptiles.
Both men appeared in the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 14 December to face various charges.
The former Berwick resident, who now lives in Nyora, Gippsland, was fined $5000 and convicted of selling controlled pest animals.
The charges related to the sale of controlled pest animals and to the sale of two boa constrictors and four corn snakes. He was also fined for failing to maintain his Protected Native Wildlife Record book.
The Endeavour Hills man was fined $4000 without conviction in relation to charges of selling scheduled pest animals. The charges related to the sale of a boa constrictor and a red-eared slider turtle.
The charges were laid by the Department of Sustainability and Environment following a year-long investigation, as reported in the News on 1 September.
The investigation led to a series of home and business raids across Melbourne and Gippsland that netted a menagerie of exotic wildlife and reptiles.
DSE spokesman Keith Larner has warned that the keeping of exotic reptiles was prohibited under State and Federal law.
He said convictions for offences would attract fines of up to $110,000 or jail sentences of up to five years.