Schwarzenberg v Commonwealth of Australia Country/Territory Australia Type of court National - lower court Date Nov 27, 2009 Source UNEP, InforMEA Court name County Court of Victoria Language English Subject Wild species & ecosystems Abstract William Schwarzenberg, the plaintiff, has been a collector of exotic birds for most of his life. For many years, the Commonwealth Government has sought to prevent the illegal trade in such birds as part of its responsibility to protect exotic species pursuant to Australia's international treaty obligations, namely being a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The birds in question were species listed under this convention. The Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts began investigating the involvement of the plaintiff in relation to bird smuggling back in November 2006. A number of search warrants at premises throughout Victoria in 2007 led to the discovery of numerous exotic birds, which were seized in August 2007 under national environment law. The plaintiff applied to the courts to have his birds returned. His barrister, Denis Connell, argued their seizure was unlawful. Mr. Schwarzenberg said he built his collection by trading, swapping and breeding birds in Australia and from overseas and ''at no stage have I […] engaged in any illegal activity relating to my birds''. He said a former mandatory scheme to register possession of such birds was a failure and he had not participated in it. The Judge found there was little basis for concluding Mr. Schwarzenberg had a ''reasonable excuse'' for possession of the birds. The Judge found that for most of the 173 birds, Mr. Schwarzenberg had produced no credible evidence that the birds he bred from were lawfully imported. ''I find that each of the birds seized was used or otherwise involved in the commission of the offence of being in possession of imported specimens,'' he said. The County Court of Victoria concluded the birds were illegally imported and Mr. Schwarzenberg was denied the return of the birds. (Provided by: UNODC SHERLOC) Full text Australia-01.pdf Website www.unodc.org