Wildlife Crime: It’s Your Call
Protecting native wildlife is everyone’s responsibility and the community plays a vital role in solving wildlife crime.
Crime Stoppers Victoria and the Conservation Regulator join forces for the ‘Wildlife Crime: It’s Your Call’ campaign, to help the public recognise wildlife crime and encourage them to come forward with any information that could help find those responsible.
Help us solve wildlife crime. Your call could make the difference.
Please note: Reports to Crime Stoppers Victoria are processed and passed on to relevant authorities for action.
What is Wildlife Crime?
What is Wildlife Crime?
Wildlife crime is any illegal activity that involves and impacts wildlife welfare, which include causing pain and suffering to individual animals or acts that could negatively affect species survival. Actions that can harm, scare, or kill native animals, such as hunting, poisoning, or trapping without permission are all wildlife crimes.
Other illegal activities including poaching, trading, importing, exporting, keeping native species as pets unlawfully, and destroying wildlife habitat, such as nests and trees, are also considered wildlife crimes.
Penalties
All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with them without authorisation, with maximum penalties of $46,154 and/or two years in jail.
Penalties for animal cruelty can be up to $96,155 or two years in jail.
What is wildlife crime?
What is wildlife
crime?
Wildlife crime is any illegal activity that involves and impacts wildlife welfare, including causing pain and suffering to individual animals or acts that could negatively affect species survival. Actions that can harm, scare, or kill native animals, such as hunting, poisoning, or trapping without permission are all wildlife crimes.
Other illegal activities including poaching, trading, importing, exporting, keeping native species as pets unlawfully, and destroying wildlife habitat, such as nests and trees, are also considered wildlife crimes.
Penalties
All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with them without authorisation, with maximum penalties of $46,154 and/or two years in jail.
Penalties for animal cruelty can be up to $96,155 or two years in jail.
Forest and Wildlife Officers: Meet the team. Hear their stories...
Unsolved Cases
Your assistance is invaluable in solving wildlife crime cases. Your reports and cooperation greatly contribute to protecting our precious wildlife. Together, we can create a safer environment for all creatures.
Join us in our efforts to combat wildlife crime.
A member of the public made an anonymous report in March 2025 via Wildlife Victoria, about a badly injured Ringtail possum in Preston. The possum was taken to a vet. The vet found three BB gun pellets in the possum and it was humanely euthanised due to injuries. The possum had two joeys on her back when found, one escaped capture and the other is healthy and being cared for at a wildlife shelter. Shooting possums with a BB gun is cruel and illegal.
The Conservation Regulator is urging anyone with information to report anonymously to Crime Stoppers Victoria online or call 1800 333 000.
All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975. It is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with wildlife without an authorisation.
Offences carry a maximum penalty of more than $9,870 and/or six months in prison for each offence.
In March 2025, a member of the public reported a dead Eastern grey kangaroo in South Morang via Wildlife Victoria. When Wildlife Victoria went to the location, they found the kangaroo had been decapitated. Human involvement is suspected. The Conservation Regulator is urging anyone with information to report anonymously to Crime Stoppers Victoria online or call 1800 333 000.
All wildlife, including kangaroos, are protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with them without authorisation and severe penalties apply.
The maximum penalty for hunting, taking, or destroying wildlife is $9,870 and/or six months in prison for each offence.
Conservation Regulator is investigating a report from March 2025 of two birds being shot and injured with a nail gun in Carnegie. The information came from an anonymous call to Victoria Police. Shooting birds with a nail gun is cruel and illegal and puts the community at risk.
The Conservation Regulator is urging anyone with information to report anonymously to Crime Stoppers Victoria online or call 1800 333 000.
All wildlife is protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975. It is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with wildlife without an authorisation.
Offences carry a maximum penalty of more than $9,870 and/or six months in prison for each offence.
Success Stories: Protecting Victoria’s wildlife
Public assistance is incredibly important to investigating and solving wildlife crime.
When you make a report about something you know or anything suspicious you’ve seen, it greatly contributes to protecting our precious native wildlife.
Join us in our efforts to combat wildlife crime.
Success – Solved
A member of the public submitted photos via Crime Stoppers Victoria of a boat, including the registration and multiple images of it changing direction to interfere with the whale’s natural direction.
From this evidence Authorised Officers were able to gain details of the owner of the vessel.
The registered owner was interviewed and admitted to operating a boat within a Whale Caution Zone and making a sudden change of direction. This constitutes an offence against the Wildlife (Marine Mammal) Regulations 2019.
The registered owner was issued an infringement for $277.
The Conservation Regulator received a closed-circuit television video as part of an anonymous tip from a member of the public via Crime Stoppers Victoria.
The video showed a person intentionally running over masked lapwing chicks near a private business in the Karadoc area.
Further investigations lead Conservation Regulator authorised officers to interview a person of interest who then received a $790 infringement notice for offences under the Wildlife Act 1975.
Conservation Regulator work closely with BirdLife Australia under the annual Operation Soho (Save Our Hoodies). The operation aims to help protect hooded plovers during their crucial breeding season, by educating beachgoers and enforcing regulations around breeding sites.
Thanks to an anonymous tip, a member of the public has been issued multiple infringement notices under the Wildlife Act 1975 for three separate offences after intentionally causing damage to a hooded plover breeding site in the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Links & Resources
Owl death Paul Range State Forest 2021
The community helped the Conservation Regulator identify two men who illegally killed protected wildlife, including an endangered powerful owl, in Paul Range State Forest near Melbourne following a Crime Stoppers Victoria appeal for information.
Both men were non-English speaking immigrants who were unaware of the relevant wildlife laws in Victoria. The Conservation Regulator facilitated an information session with co-regulars to educate the men and their community about hunting and environmental laws in Victoria.
Eastern grey kangaroo dog attack Upwey – 2023
A dog owner self-reported to the Conservation Regulator last year after a video of their pet dog attacking a kangaroo in Upwey was circulated online and a call for information was made through Crime Stoppers Victoria.
The dog owner was issued an Official Warning under the Wildlife Act 1975 for allowing their dog to attack wildlife, and officers educated them about the dangers of dog and wildlife interactions.
Magpie deaths Merbein – 2021
Thanks to an anonymous community report about native birds being shot near Mildura, the Conservation Regulator investigated and prosecuted a man for animal cruelty offenses.
On inspection of the man’s property, Conservation Regulator Authorised Officers found four dead and two injured magpies, which were later euthanised by a qualified veterinarian due to the seriousness of their wounds.
In 2023, the man was sentenced to a two-year good behavior bond and ordered to pay nearly $2,400 in fines and legal costs after he pleaded guilty to ten charges of wounding and inflicting aggravated cruelty on an animal under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1986.
White-bellied sea eagles – Avalon February 2024
The Conservation Regulator is seeking public information regarding an incident involving a juvenile white-bellied sea eagle, approximately 4 months old, which was allegedly shot around 3-4 weeks ago in Avalon. The exact date is yet to be confirmed.
A member of the public reported hearing gunshots in a nearby paddock to a neighbor. Following this report, a local birdwatcher discovered the deceased bird in the paddock. The discovery was reported to the Conservation Regulator on Wednesday, February 21.
Authorized Officers visited the site on Thursday, February 22, and confirmed the presence of the eagle’s body. Examination revealed entry and exit wounds consistent with shotgun pellets on the bird’s beak. Due to decomposition, further testing could not be conducted.
The land where the incident occurred is currently owned by Geelong Grammar School and leased to a farmer. White-bellied sea eagles are classified as endangered under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee (FFG) Act 1988.
Kangaroo – Lalor 22 December 2023
The Conservation Regulator is calling on the public for information about two eastern grey kangaroos allegedly attacked by two dogs near Blessington Parade in Lalor on 22 December 2023.
A member of the public reported the incident to Wildlife Victoria after observing a male drive away with the two pet dogs and leaving the seriously injured kangaroos at the scene.
The kangaroos were subsequently euthanised by a wildlife carer due to the severity of their wounds. A very young joey was also found at the scene and was taken to a local wildlife shelter for rehabilitation.
All wildlife, including kangaroos, are protected in Victoria under the Wildlife Act 1975 and it is illegal to hunt, take, destroy, injure, or interfere with them without authorisation and severe penalties apply.
The maximum penalty for hunting, taking, or destroying wildlife is $9,615.
