World
Australia: Man fined 31,000 AUD for smuggling 65 wild reptiles
Nicholas Thomas Havet, 28, from New South Wales, was fined 31,000 Australian dollars by the Northam Magistrates Court in Western Australia for attempting to smuggle 65 wild reptiles out of the state. Convicted in absentia of six counts of unauthorized wildlife export, he made two trips to Western Australia between March and April 2023. Australia Post intercepted the reptiles at Perth airport, but 55 of the 65 animals died – 4 on arrival, 51 euthanized. The black market value was estimated between 65,000 and 1.3 million AUD.