Wildlife Queensland has launched a postcard and poster campaign to ban opera house traps in all Queensland public waters.

Opera house traps and other enclosed yabby traps kill platypuses, turtles, Australian water-rats and water birds. Up to five dead platypuses were recovered from a single trap in Far North Queensland. While legal in Queensland, these traps are banned in all public waters in Tasmania, Victoria, ACT and east of the Newell Highway in New South Wales.

Although not listed as threatened, platypus numbers have declined in some areas due to habitat degradation and other pressures.

How many more platypuses will die in Queensland before the Government acts to ban these traps?

How you can help

1. Click here to send a postcard to the Premier asking her to ban opera house traps
2. When yabbying, use wildlife friendlier alternatives such as dilly nets or baited lines with no hooks
3. Report dead wildlife found in yabby traps to Wildlife Queensland.
4. Contact us if you can help distribute posters and postcards in your local area.

We would like to acknowledge the generous contribution by Wuhoo Creative and Platypus Graphics in designing and printing the postcards and posters for this campaign.

For more information

• Danger in the opera house … Platypus Death Traps
• Queensland Seniors urged to leave the yabby trap at home - August 2009
• Illegal Yabby Traps kill platypus - October 2008
• Wildlife Queenland's PlatypusWatch project
• Danger in the opera house - Wildlife Australia Magazine - Spring 2009

For more information on Wildlife Queensland's activities, call us on +61 7 3221 0194 or send us an email.