The ACT has lead a national agreement on addressing the impacts of harmful opera house yabby traps at today’s Meeting of Environment Ministers.
My state and federal colleagues have agreed with the ACT Government’s recommended approach to working together to remove these traps from our nation’s waterways.
Opera house traps pose a high risk to our native animals such as freshwater turtles, water rats and our iconic platypus. The traps lure the animals in and can suffocate because they are unable to exit.
I recently moved to make these traps illegal in all ACT waterways, however a national approach is needed to ban their sale across Australia.
I have written to retailers encouraging them to stop selling these traps and am pleased that some major retailers have already decided to take them off the shelf.
We will continue to work with industry and businesses on our local ban to reduce the purchase and use of opera house traps in the ACT.
