Success stories
Here are examples of community members and government working together to report and remove high risk non-native animals.
Nesting red-eared slider turtle unlocks key control information
In late 2019, a member of the Fairfield local government area (Sydney) came across a female red-eared slider turtle laying eggs near a water body. The council member thought the animal looked unusual, so took some photographs and safely contained the animal before reporting it to the NSW Department of Primary Industries. The non-indigenous animals team received the report and confirmed the species to be a red-eared slider turtle. Arrangements were made to have the turtle and eggs removed from the wild. They were transported to assist with training of a detector dog to locate the scent of free living red-eared slider turtles and their nests. This single sighting has now helped to develop a new method to identify and remove red-eared slider turtle eggs in the wild.
Corn snake detected, reported and removed from suburb in southern Sydney
A corn snake was spotted and reported by a resident living at Tahmoor, south Sydney. The resident recognised that the colouration of the animal was unusual, and reported the sighting to authorities. A local snake catcher was deployed to the location to quickly and safely capture the animal. Wollondilly Shire Council subsequently issued a statement highlighting the risk that introduced animals pose to Australia's native wildlife, agriculture and human health. Members of the community were asked by to be on the lookout for more unusual snake sightings. Read more about this story The Land (2019).
Report Non-Native Animals