Antiques dealer fined after raid uncovers 700 dead native animals, including 78 stuffed emus

Feathers, skin and spines poking out from plastic bags and eyeballs prised open with needles were just some of the horrors found at the home of a Kyneton antiques dealer after his home and business were raided by wildlife police.

Stacked across 14 freezers and hidden in plain sight among the bursting shelves of one of the area’s famous antique stores were hundreds of illegal specimens collected by a 74-year-old Kyneton man.

Among the taxidermied animals were 78 emus, 42 brushtail possums and 26 echidnas.

The collection included the remains of threatened species, including the barking owl, diamond python and Murray River short-necked turtle.

In total, more than 700 dead native birds, reptiles and mammals were discovered between the dealer’s home and his antiques business in the Macedon Ranges town after a four-day operation by authorities from the state’s Conservation Regulator in April 2025.

Investigators also found 15 live reptiles in enclosures, including native snakes and turtles, North American red-eared slider turtles and corn snakes.

Six native reptiles were being kept in conditions that did not meet required animal welfare standards.

On Tuesday, the antiques dealer pleaded guilty to charges including illegally possessing and selling wildlife, taking wildlife from the wild without authorisation and failing to meet animal welfare requirements.

The court heard animals and animal remains were obtained and possessed without the licences or authorisations required under Victoria’s wildlife laws.

In sentencing, the magistrate noted that the collection included many iconic and endangered species, and that the volume of offending was enormous.

“It is bewildering that a man of your intelligence and knowledge and love of wildlife would arrogantly flout the law so comprehensively,” the magistrate said.

The antiques dealer was convicted and fined $10,000.

In sentencing, the magistrate considered the man’s age, previous good character, early plea of guilty and limited financial capacity.

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