THE AUSTRALIAN (Sydney) 10 November 04 Crikey, I want my snakes (Leisa Scott)
A snake breeder is demanding that Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin return 16 green pythons worth about $300,000, the progeny of pregnant reptiles taken from his far north Queensland property in a police raid searching for illegally kept wildlife.
Bob Buckley, a wildlife carer and snake breeder for 40 years, was convicted of possessing and disposing of suspected tainted property - green pythons - in 1999, but an appeal judge overturned the conviction two years later, finding the case was an abuse of process.
Irwin was called by the prosecution to give expert testimony at the 1999 court case, in which he admitted 17 snakes belonging to Mr Buckley had been placed in his care by then fauna squad detective John O'Shea. One snake is believed to have died.
Mr Buckley, 54, spent three weeks in prison before the conviction was overturned, and has spent about $120,000 defending himself and trying to retrieve the snakes.
"I've spent too much money now - I'm not a rich person, and this has put me into permanent poverty and I'm not happy about it," he said.
"They are my animals, which were taken as evidence in a court case, and I won that court case and I want my property back."
Irwin's legal firm, McColm Matsinger, declined to comment yesterday.
Mr Buckley claims neither he nor his solicitor in 2003, Stephen Hockey, were alerted to a hearing that they did not attend, which may have led to the forfeiture of the snakes.
Mr Hockey's practice was halted earlier this year after he admitted to defrauding clients.
Mr Buckley said the raid on his property on August 23, 1997, followed an earlier raid in January 1994. He was found not guilty of illegally obtaining six green pythons in that case.
The second raid in 1997 occurred when three of his six adult pythons were gravid with eggs, one batch of which had then been put in the care of Mr Irwin.
Transcripts from the court case in which Irwin gave testimony show the Crocodile Hunter claimed a green python became sexually mature at about four years, casting doubt on Mr Buckley's accounts of his breeding program.
Mr Buckley said yesterday it was ironic that Irwin had been called as a witness, given that in 1993 Irwin had written to him, saying he would be "ecstatic if you could provide me with any information on breeding, housing, husbandry etc" of green pythons.
In the appeal heard in the Brisbane District Court, Justice Ian Wylie found the respondent in the case, John O'Shea, had tried to "relitigate an issue which had been finally decided" in the 1994 case.
Mr Buckley said none of the events would have occurred if Irwin had phoned him after the appeal and offered to give him back half the snakes.
"We're talking about $20,000 each, it's not inconsiderable," Mr Buckley said.
"This is the silly thing about it - that man is so rich, he doesn't need my snakes, he can buy as many as he likes."
Crikey, I want my snakes