Deadly garden items photographed on shelves of Aussie discount shops despite $50,000 ban

Retailers are risking potentially huge fines by stocking one dangerous product, but there are concerns little is being done to prosecute the stores.

Left: A $2 shop storefront in Melbourne. Right: Shelving with illegal glue traps
Wildlife rescuers have discovered illegal glue traps being sold at discount shops across Melbourne. Source: Friends of Bats & Bushcare

Dozens of illegal items have been photographed at discount stores across one Aussie capital. Banned glue traps and wide-gauge fruit tree netting were openly being sold alongside regular household items at multiple locations in Melbourne.

Both items are imported from overseas and are known to frequently kill and maim Australia’s native birds, snakes, lizards and bats. Despite them being illegal to sell or use, animal rescuer Lawrence Pope has seen little effort by authorities to rid them from retail shelves.

“I've been into over 50 shops, mainly thrift stores, $2 shops and dollar stores. And around 90 per cent of those stores have sold products that are deadly to wildlife,” the Friends of Bats and Bushcare spokesperson told Yahoo News.

In Victoria, household fruit tree netting with a mesh size bigger than 5mm x 5mm has been illegal since September, 2021. While glue board traps can't even be used by commercial pest controllers, and are heavily regulated under the state’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulations 2019.

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Elsewhere in Australia there are fewer restrictions, and Yahoo has reported on growing calls for state regulators to ban both products.

When Pope has informed store owners they are selling illegal items, they’ve generally been quick to pull them from the shelves. Because many speak English as a second language, he believes most were unaware of the bans.

Illegal nets being sold at discount stores in Melbourne.
Banned netting was found at discount stores in Melbourne's southeast. Source: Friends of Bats & Bushcare

There are heavy penalties for those who flout the bans. Illegal net users face on-the-spot fines of $395 and for sellers it is $791, and if the case goes to court the maximum is $2,964.

Because of the pain and suffering caused by illegal glue traps, the fines are higher still. The maximum penalty for the sale or the use of one is $47,421 for an individual, and for a body corporate it is $237,108.

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“Animals caught in them struggle to free themselves, and in the process they tear their flesh. One of the reasons they were made illegal is they’re the most barbaric of traps,” Pope said.

“You can hear mammals screaming in pain as they try to release themselves, and they’re held immobilised in that trap until they die. And they just die of shock or extreme stress.”

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A blue tongue lizard recovering on a newspaper after being caught on a glue trap. A kookaburra caught on a glue trap. A quenda caught on a glue trap.
Glue boards regularly trap native animals including blue-tongue lizards, kookaburras and native mammals. Source: RSPCA/Darling Range Wildlife Shelter WA

Pope doesn’t think it should be up to wildlife rescuers, who deal with the impacts of these cruel devices on a daily basis, to do the government’s work and enforce the law.

“Victoria has Australia's best wildlife-safe netting regulations. We just need the enforcement regimen to match the regulations,” Pope said.

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“We’re seeing illegal netting and illegal glue board traps continuing to be sold for weeks and months and years on end. So the enforcement is entirely lacking.”

Pope claims to have made multiple reports about retailers selling illegal items, but there appears to be little response. Stores he’s reported continue to stock them.

“What really infuriates us is our time is completely wasted. Because nothing is done, those illegal products go on to trap native species,” he said.

Victoria’s Department of Environment (DEECA) was asked by Yahoo News if it could comment on what it was doing to stop the sale of illegal devices that harm wildlife.

While it did not address the question directly it said, “DEECA takes the sale and use of illegal glue traps and household fruit netting seriously and authorised officers can take action against offenders, including directions notices, official warnings, infringement notices, and prosecutions.”

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Anyone who sees illegal fruit netting or glue traps being used or sold can report it to DEECA on 136 186.

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