‘Death threats’ after possum video, as RSPCA refers incident for investigation

Workers at a Brisbane concreting company have received death threats since video of one of its workers shaking a possum off a 30-metre concrete boom pump went public, its managing director claimed.

The video, taken last Friday, shows the possum holding on for dear life atop a fully extended boom pump owned by Brisbane firm Arete Concrete. It is then shaken free, falling 30 metres to the cement below.

An RSPCA spokeswoman confirmed its investigators had referred the matter to the Department of Environment Tourism Science and Innovation for further investigation under the Nature Conservation Act.

“An investigation into the alleged incident is under way,” a DETSI spokeswoman said.

“Anyone with information is encouraged to contact us on 1300 130 372 or by emailing [email protected].”

Arete managing director Steve Murdoch said the company had not been contacted by any investigating authorities.

“As a responsible local business and a committed member of our community, we would welcome and fully co-operate with any investigation, should one be initiated,” he said.

The company, however, had been in contact with the police. Murdoch said that was not due to the possum incident.

“[It was] in a duty-of-care capacity for our staff as a direct result of the significant volume of personal threats, including death threats, that have been made against our business and staff since this story was first published,” he said.

Earlier, Murdoch said the worker who operated the boom pump had been warned, and staff had been reminded of the company’s procedures for dealing with wildlife on worksites.

Wildlife Queensland chief executive John Tracey said he was sickened by the footage and wanted real consequences for those responsible. He said Murdoch’s earlier insistence the possum survived the fall was “highly unlikely”.

“What we see, more often than not, is that people get a bit of a slap on the wrist and on they go with the next job,” he said.

“You want to have penalties serious enough and to make sure that they’re applied when they should be.

“Everything that we can see in this example shows us that they should be looking at the maximum penalty, so we hope that they are.”

Tracey said construction workers should all be well-versed in how to deal with wildlife on worksites.

“It’s not something that was hard to deal with. It could have been easy – you drop it to the ground, and you let the possum go,” he said.

“It’s certainly avoidable and disappointing that this has occurred and you’d hope there’d be serious consequences for breaches like this.”

The RSPCA spokeswoman said anyone needing assistance with wildlife rescue, or the safe removal of animals from worksites, could contact its 1300 ANIMAL hotline.

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