A volunteer animal rescue service is urging the public to follow the law and respect native wildlife after a possum was found caged on the roof of a home during extreme weather. The discovery in Melbourne has sparked outrage among locals and has drawn fresh calls for compliance with wildlife laws.
The incident follows a similar case last year, when a separate wildlife rescue group was called to a property in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges after a possum was allegedly “purposely trapped” in a cage and left “out in the open”.
Sonja from All Animal Rescuers Victoria told Yahoo News Australia on Tuesday that the latest example was one of several recent matters their organisation had been alerted to.
She received an urgent call late last month during a sweltering summer day, when temperatures had climbed to around 39 degrees.
“A cool change had just come through, and it was suddenly pouring with rain,” Sonja said.
A passerby had spotted two steel animal traps sitting on a slanted rooftop, fully exposed to the elements. Inside one of them was a small ringtail possum, curled up and distressed.
“We believe he’d likely been trapped the night before,” she said.
“If that was the case, he’d been sitting there in the blazing sun all day with no water, no shelter, and then was being pelted with rain.”
The animal had likely been stranded on the roof for several hours in extreme heat and rain. Source: All Animal Rescuers
Protected possum was ‘soaking wet and completely bedraggled’
The group rushed to the property with a ladder, prepared to involve police if necessary to gain access. The homeowners were present but, she claimed, showed little concern for the animal’s welfare.
“They seemed more worried about who the ‘busybody’ was that had called it in,” Sonja claimed, adding that the possum was clearly visible from the street.
The residents had reportedly engaged a local pest control company to remove what they described as “annoying possums” from their tree-filled garden in an affluent suburb near a wildlife sanctuary.
“It never fails to confound me why people who have no respect for wildlife choose to live in a wildlife haven and then want to remove the wildlife that belongs there,” Sonja said.
According to All Animal Rescuers, the pest controller had set the traps the previous day but failed to return the following morning to check them, as required by law.
The animal was eventually rescued and cared for by specialists. Source: All Animal Rescuers
Is it legal to trap possums in Victoria?
While it is illegal in NSW, South Australia, Tasmania, and Queensland to catch and release possums from roof spaces without an approved permit or licence, homeowners in Victoria are permitted to do so as long as they follow “very strict” regulations.
Breaching the rules carries a penalty of up to $9,246 under the Wildlife Act 1975 and/or two years imprisonment, or a $44,380 fine under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Regulation 2016.
“Basically, everything was done wrong,” Sonja said, alleging multiple breaches of wildlife regulations.
Despite protests from the residents, Sonja climbed onto the slippery roof in the rain and carefully retrieved the trap.
She said the “poor possum was freaking out”, throwing himself “against the bars trying to escape”.
The animal was described as “soaking wet and completely bedraggled.”
Once safely in the car, the possum was examined and reported to be dehydrated with “what appeared to be burns on his paws from the hot metal cage”.
“Alarmingly, he also seemed blind,” Sonja said.
The possum was taken to a nearby emergency veterinary clinic, where staff advised that the blindness could be temporary, potentially caused by stress or extreme heat.
It was kept overnight for monitoring.
By the following morning, the possum’s vision had returned.
It was later transferred into the care of a licensed wildlife rehabilitator for recovery, with the hope of eventual release back into the wild.
The trapper has since been reported to authorities.
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