Today, the variety of extraneous police duties carried out by the officers, for the most part is limited to civic commissions and enquiries with the exception given to specialist squads. In the 1970s, a number of these were set up to provide targeted response to specific categories of offences. In March 1978, the Fauna Protection Squad was organised. This later was re-named into the Wildlife Task Force. Originally, the squad only had two members: a Detective Sergeant First Class, who was seconded to the National Parks and Wildlife Services and a plain clothes senior constable.
Combined Fauna Protection Squad and National Parks and Wildlife Service patrolling the Simpson Desert in 1979.
Image No. PM0955 courtesy the Queensland Police Museum.
The squad was responsible for protecting the State’s natural fauna from poachers, smugglers and vandals. It was formed following reports of large-scale poaching on Cape York Peninsula of rare birds, reptiles and illegal fishing. The range of their responsibilities came to include protection of places of archaeological significance in additional to protection of animals.
Wildlife Task Force Detective Senior Constable Gavin Ricketts and the Chief Investigator with the University of Qld’s Koala Study Program researching together in 1991.
Image No. PM0157 courtesy Queensland Police Museum.
A few years into the squad’s patrols, a major illegal operation of exporters of fauna was uncovered with a clearing house located in Brisbane. Organisation and levels of revenue were established to be similar to those of the drug trade.
Annually, the squad confiscated hundreds of birds, reptiles and kangaroo skins. High black market prices kept the numbers of illegal suppliers up – a Diamond Python and a pair of Palm Cockatoos from Cape York fetched $3,500 and $100,000 overseas respectively.
Confiscated crocodile skins.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.
In 1984, in a joint operation with the Bureau of Customs, luggage search at Brisbane Airport revealed a shocking discovery: 99 Australian birds disemboweled and wrapped in newspapers. The two perpetrators arrested confessed to trapping the birds while holidaying with friends at Ballandean.
Palm Cockatoo, confiscated during an operation, eventually rehabilitated and released back into the wild.
Image courtesy Senior Sergeant Michael Butler.
The squad was unique to the Queensland Police. The unit continued to operate until 2003, when the responsibilities of the Wildlife Response Unit were transferred to Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service.
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This article was written by Museum Volunteer and Crime and Policing Historian Dr Anastasia Dukova from the best resources available within the Queensland Police Museum. The Police Museum is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Thursday and 10am to 3pm on the last Sunday of the month (Feb – Nov) and is located on the Ground Floor of Police Headquarters at 200 Roma Street, Brisbane. Email: museum@police.qld.gov.au
“FROM the VAULT – Fauna Protection Squad” by the Queensland Police Service is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (BY) 2.5 Australia Licence. Permissions may be available beyond the scope of this licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/au/legalcode