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Platypuses Are Dying in These Nets – Ban Them NOW, Queensland!

Fishing nets are drowning platypuses in Queensland waterways, and we need your help to put a stop to it.

Yabby nets (aka “opera house nets”) are commonly used to catch crayfish – but they are indiscriminate killers, luring in animals such as platypuses and drowning them.

Many of these traps are used during the summer months, when female platypuses are foraging for food for their babies. If a mother is caught in a trap, her young will starve to death.

© Mike Sverns

Because of the “set and forget” nature of these traps, they’re often left in the water for months at a time, and some are forgotten about completely, killing unknown numbers of animals.

In 2018, more than 10,000 PETA supporters voiced their opposition to the sale of opera house nets. As a result, companies such as Kmart, BCF, CH Smith Marine, Aussie Disposals, and Anglers Warehouse pulled them from their stores, and the government of Victoria officially outlawed them.

In 2021, the government of New South Wales followed suit and announced that the traps would be prohibited in the state beginning on 30 April 2021. Now Queensland must do the same – and quickly.

In Queensland alone, more than 200,000 of these traps are still being purchased every year. Research from the University of Queensland has found that platypus populations have disappeared from five locations around southeastern areas of the state.

Please join us in signing this petition to Meaghan Scanlon MP, minister for the environment, and Mark Furner MP, minister for fisheries, urging them to ban the use of opera house nets in Queensland now!

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QLD Government: Ban Opera House Fishing Nets


To Minister for the Environment Meaghan Scanlon MP and Minister for Fisheries Mark Furner MP:

I was shocked to learn from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia that Queensland is still allowing the sale and use of enclosed yabby traps (aka “opera house nets”).

This style of fishing net is extremely dangerous to platypuses, who become ensnared and drown in the nets. These traps are used during the summer months, when female platypuses are foraging for food for their babies. If a mother is caught in a trap, her young will starve to death.

More than 40% of recorded platypus deaths in Victoria between 1980 and 2009 were from drowning in fishing nets or traps. Thankfully, Victoria and New South Wales have now both banned the sale and use of these abominable traps – it’s time for Queensland to do the same.

More than 200,000 of these traps are purchased in Queensland every year, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Meanwhile, research from the University of Queensland has found that platypus populations have disappeared from five locations around southeastern areas of the state.

Please help platypuses and ensure these nets are banned as a matter of priority.

Sincerely,
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