A Bacchus Marsh man has been convicted of illegally possessing more than 60 wild reptiles, including two crocodiles.
Jeremiah Debono last week pleaded guilty to all charges, after a Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) raid early last year uncovered pythons, a saltwater crocodile, sand goanna and a dead freshwater crocodile on his premises.
Debono was fined $4500 plus costs for taking the wildlife from their natural habitat and keeping them without a permit
He must wait five years before applying for a wildlife licence.
The presiding magistrate said that if Debono had pleaded not guilty, he would have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, wholly suspended.
DEPI senior compliance officer Mark Breguet said officers also seized computers, phones, cameras and electronic storage devices during the search early last year.
“In sentencing the man, the magistrate noted that Victorians are aware that wildlife is under threat and the act manages the trade in wildlife in a controlled way,’’ Mr Breguet said. ‘‘He considered the man’s actions to be a serious breach of this control.
“The magistrate also recognised the need for the community to understand that this behaviour … would not be tolerated.
‘‘[Wildlife] must be kept in accordance with a licence or in approved care for recovery or rehabilitation and must not be taken from the wild.”
