South Australian Current Acts South Australian Current Acts68AA—Prohibition on destroying, damaging or disturbing wombat burrow
(1) Subject to
subsection (3), a person must not, without a permit granted by the
Minister, destroy, damage or disturb the burrow of a wombat.
Maximum penalty: $5 000 or imprisonment for 12 months.
(2) It is a defence to
a charge of an offence against subsection (1) for the defendant to prove
that the defendant exercised such precautions as the defendant might
reasonably be expected to have exercised in the circumstances to avoid
destroying, damaging or disturbing the burrow.
(3) A person does not
require a permit under subsection (1) if—
(a) the
burrow is outside a Wombat Burrow Protection Zone; and
(b) the
person is—
(i)
the owner of the land where the burrow is located; or
(ii)
authorised to destroy, damage or disturb (as the case
requires) the burrow by the owner of the land where the burrow is located; and
(c) the
burrow is causing, or is likely to cause, damage to crops, stock, machinery or
infrastructure (including tracks and built structures) or may constitute a
safety risk or hazard to people.
(4) Where a permit is
granted for the purposes of this section, no further authorisation or
permission for the destruction, damage or disturbance of the burrow is
required pursuant to any other Act or law.
(5) This section is in
addition to, and does not derogate from, any other provision of this Act or
any other Act or law relating to the taking or harming of, or interference
with, animals.
(6) In this
section—
"wombat" means an animal of the species Vombatus ursinus or Lasiorhinus
latifrons ;
"Wombat Burrow Protection Zone" means an area declared by the Minister by
notice in the Gazette to be a Wombat Burrow Protection Zone for the purposes
of this section.