ABOUT 20 native turtles have been trapped and left for dead in the same Wilberforce lagoon where hundreds of carp recently died.
Daniel Wijnans was "angry as hell" when he found two traps containing the turtles at Bushells Lagoon on Wednesday night, six of which had died.
The Wilberforce truck driver took his daughter down to the lagoon on the evening of February 21 to see the dead carp, which experts say died as the result of the lagoon drying up.
When he got there, he saw the two traps and became livid.
“I’m filthy about it, that's bullshit,” he said.
“I didn't really know what to do, I was angry, angry as hell.
“I'm no greenie, but you respect the Hawkesbury. It is where we live.”
Mr Wijnans said he thought all the turtles were dead until he saw one move in the trap. When he investigated further, he saw a number were still alive.
He cut one trap open, got all the live turtles out, and placed them in the other before taking them down to the Hawkesbury River to release them.
Mr Winjans has reported what he found to the authorities, and said he hoped the responsible person was caught.
“It is one thing to find them in the water but to find them on the banks cooking away,” he said.
The Gazette has contacted the Department of Primary Industries, WIRES and the RSPCA for comment.
My Wijnans' discovery of the traps follows a number of similar issues across the Hawkesbury.
Hawkesbury councillors passed a Notice of Motion at the February 13 meeting to investigate similar incidents at Navua Reserve and Yarramundi Reserve.
The NoM called for more patrolling of the areas to inspect fishing licenses and yabby traps.
It also called for signs to be put up at popular fishing spots, to inform people that turtles were not a pest and did not reduce fish numbers.
If you find injured wildlife you can contact WIRES on 1300 094 737.