Dorothy Sloan: Violet Town woman fights 291 charges over wedge-tailed eagle deaths

A Violet Town woman is facing almost 300 charges following the alleged poisoning of native wildlife in 2019. But there’s questions about who laid the bait.

Dorothy Sloan is fighting the charges against her. PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

An elderly Violet Town woman is fighting almost 300 charges in relation to the deaths of more than 120 wedge-tailed eagles and other native wildlife.

Dorothy Sloan, 81, briefly faced Benalla Magistrates’ Court for a contest mention hearing on Tuesday for the matters dating back to 2019.

Her charge sheet, which is 99 pages long, has 291 charges listed including alleged offences of committing aggravating animal cruelty, poisoning wildlife and possession of protected wildlife found on her property.

Court documents say animals found at the property included a large number of wedge-tailed eagles, ducks, galahs and several kangaroo joeys.

A woman is fighting almost 300 charges in relation to the deaths of more than 120 wedge-trailed eagles and other native wildlife.

Department of Land, Environment, Water and Planning prosecutor Anne-Marie Stephanides alleged some of the animals were found in a freezer on the property near Violet Town.

The animals were allegedly poisoned via bait but Ms Stephanides said finding out who laid the bait was the “issue”.

This is not the first time someone has been charged with killing eagles in Victoria.

In an unrelated incident in 2018, farm worker Murray James Silvester was the first person to receive a custodial sentence for destruction of protected wildlife in Victoria.

He was jailed for 14 days and fined $2500 after being found guilty of poisoning 420 wedge-tailed eagles in East Gippsland over a two-year period.

The land owner was eventually fined $25,000, with the money given to local wildlife groups, after he pleaded guilty to six charges over the misuse of agriculture chemicals.

He was also ordered to pay costs to Agriculture Victoria who investigated the matter.

Native birds are protected under the Wildlife Act 1975.

Killing them or being in possession of them without the appropriate licence or authority carries a maximum penalty ranging from $8261 to $39,652 and/or six to 24 months imprisonment

Sloan’s case will return to Shepparton Magistrates’ Court in October for a special mention hearing.

It will then proceed to a contested hearing over six days in February.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Dorothy Sloan: Violet Town woman fights 291 charges over wedge-tailed eagle deaths