You'd have to be nuts to keep illegal squirrels... owner fined $6,070

A Northern palm squirrel similar to those found being kept illegally at Maitland.

A former Maitland pet shop owner has been fined $2,000 for keeping eight Northern palm squirrels without a licence and ordered to pay $4,000 professional costs and $70 court costs at Maitland Local Court.

The man elected to have the matter heard in court, rather than pay a $550 Penalty Infringement Notice issued by NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

Magistrate Jackson heard that authorised officers appointed under the Non-Indigenous Animals Act 1987 found eight Northern palm squirrels in cages in the back yard of a home on 18 May 2006.

Squirrels are defined as ‘Category 2’ animals under the Non-Indigenous Animals Act 1987 and associated Regulations, a classification given to species of ‘high pest potential or of significant conservation value’ .

Northern palm squirrels belong to the rodent family, have many of the characteristics of the more common rat and mouse species already free-living in Australia and pose similar threats.

They may only be kept under the authority of a licence issued by the NSW DPI or if the animals are numerically identified by ear tattoo or microchip and the owner holds a certificate from a registered veterinary surgeon that certifies the animals have been sterilised.

The man was issued with an ‘Order to Comply’ during the inspection which required him to have the animals sterilised, however further investigations in June 2006 revealed that the action had not been taken.

In handing down his decision, Magistrate Jackson said squirrels are a serious problem in other countries and are treated as rodents.

He said he had travelled to some of these countries and seen the problem for himself.   

"When considering the matter I think of deterrents and these deterrents must be personal and general in nature," he said.

Northern palm squirrels are listed as an ‘extreme threat’ by the National Vertebrate Pests Committee, a sub-committee of the National Resource Management Standing Committee.

The maximum penalty for keeping high risk animals without a licence is 100 penalty units ($11,000) or imprisonment for six months, or both.

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