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Allegations that the prospect of shooting wombats from the windows of luxury limousines is being used to entice Chinese “high-roller” gamblers to visit Australia have horrified animal lovers.

The alleged activity has been condemned as “hideous and obscene behaviour” in Australia’s Parliament and has inspired a “Stop the Slaughter of Wombats in Victoria” petition on Change.org, calling for wombats to be protected throughout the whole of Victoria. Early this morning it was heading for 70,000 signatures.

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young said she could not understand why the government had not cracked down on the hunting of wombats.

A report on Nine news mentioned a rural property in northeast Victoria where it alleged the activity was taking place. It referred to a website, translated from Mandarin, which said the first thing tourists should feel in Australia was to be a wilderness hunter in the mountains.

“Even if you don’t have any shooting experience, it doesn’t matter,” it said.

“With professional guidance, you will be a great shooter!

“Hares, foxes, wombats, wild ducks, red deer, sambars … A variety of wild animals to spend a happy holiday with you.”

“This is beyond bizarre,” Hanson-Young told parliament. “This is stranger than fiction. Why on earth is this government doing absolutely nothing to really crack down on this hideous and obscene behaviour?”

Hanson-Young mentioned reports about a Victorian property known as a “dude ranch”.

“The dude ranch, known to the Victorian police and the local council, is where high rollers visiting Crown allegedly ‘gun up’ and kill wombats from the windows of their luxury limousine,” Hanson-Young told the Senate.

All species of wombats are protected in every state except Victoria, where they are left unprotected in many districts.

Common wombat. All species of wombats are protected in every state except Victoria.

Hanson-Young asked Senator Mathias Corman, Leader of the Government in the Senate: “Minister, what is your government doing to investigate and speak with the Victorian police about this alleged illegal activity?”

Corman replied that the previous day (30 July 2019) the Attorney-General had referred allegations of corruption involving the Department of Home Affairs and Crown Casino to ACLEI, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

“The referral relates to media reports involving various allegations of corruption with respect to interactions between employees of Crown Casino and others. All these allegations have now been referred to ACLEI,” Corman said. “It would not be appropriate for me to comment further.”

The full exchange can be read on the Parliamentary website here.

Crown says the “junkets” were not related to the company.

“They are independent operators who arrange for their customers to visit many casinos globally,” Crown’s board of directors said in a statement on Thursday.

“Crown itself has a robust process for vetting junket operators, including a combination of probity, integrity and police checks, and Crown undertakes regular reviews of these operators in the light of new or additional information.”

Crown said it aimed to set the record straight “in the face of a deceitful campaign against Crown” mounted by the 60 Minutes’ program and related articles in the Fairfax Press, which had “unfairly attempted to damage Crown’s reputation”.

It denounced “unbalanced and sensationalised reporting” against Crown.

“Crown operates in one of the most highly regulated industries in Australia and takes its responsibility to comply with its obligations very seriously,” the statement said.

“Much was sought to be made in the program of the conduct of ‘Crown’s junket operators’. In fact the junkets are not Crown’s. They are independent operators who arrange for their customers to visit many casinos globally.

“Crown deals with junkets and their customers in essentially the same way as other international casinos.”

The full statement from Crown can be read on its website here.

Written by Peter Needham