A second mounted thylacine head has surfaced at Bristol-based auctioneer Auctioneum, weeks after a similar specimen sold well above reserve. Auctioneer Andrew Stowe said a London family had kept the head under a bed, fearing it, until they read about the earlier sale. A radiograph by a local vet confirmed the specimen was a thylacine. It is understood to have been shot in Sheffield, Tasmania, in the early 1900s and taken to Britain in 1905. Unlike the first head, which was mistaken for a fox, this one appears skilfully sculpted and largely intact, though one ear is loose.
A 74-year-old Victorian antiques store owner, Glenn Richard Rollo, has been fined $10,000 after pleading guilty to 13 charges. The charges include selling and possessing protected and threatened wildlife and failing to treat a sick animal. Officers searched his store and home last year and found more than 700 native animals, many frozen or taxidermied, across 14 freezers. The conservation regulator said he held no licence to obtain or possess them. A Victorian MP said the fine was barely a deterrent and called for wildlife laws to be modernised.
A 74-year-old Kyneton man has been fined $10,000 after pleading guilty to wildlife and animal welfare charges in the Kyneton Magistrates’ Court. Conservation Regulator officers searched his home and antiques business in April 2025 and found more than 700 dead native birds, reptiles and mammals, many taxidermied or stored in 14 freezers. The collection included threatened species such as the barking owl and diamond python. Officers also found live reptiles in poor conditions and prohibited pest animals. The magistrate said the man had flouted the law comprehensively. Northern Victoria MP Georgie Purcell said the fine was barely a deterrent.
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A Victorian man has been fined $10,000 after more than 700 dead animals were found at his home and antiques business. Glenn Richard Rollo, 74, pleaded guilty to 13 wildlife and animal welfare charges in the Kyneton Magistrates' Court. The Conservation Regulator found taxidermied and frozen animals, including emus, echidnas and threatened species such as the barking owl. Investigators also found live prohibited pest reptiles. Magistrate Patrick Southey said he would have imposed a $15,000 fine without the guilty plea. A Victorian MP said the penalty was too low.
A suburban home in Banks holds about 400 taxidermy and skeletal specimens, including animal skulls and human teeth. Kahlee has built the collection since 2011 and says the human bones are legally and ethically sourced, including old medical specimens. She says the items have cost thousands of dollars, with some individual pieces fetching about $300. Her home is also a popular stop at Halloween, when she displays the animals she calls her too-late petting zoo.
Former accountant Mithran Selvaratnam runs a Darwin souvenir business that turns cane toads, crocodile skulls and other animal parts into taxidermy products. He began in 2017 after buying a stall at Mindil Markets, learning the craft at a Queensland bootcamp. Community toad busts at Territory Wildlife Park supply him with hundreds of toads at once. He says giving discarded animal parts a second life is rewarding, and his festive toads are being prepared for Christmas orders.
