Farmer fined $225,000 for clearing 950 hectares of native bush
NSW grain farmer Sheldon Dalton was fined $225,000. He illegally cleared nearly 950 hectares of threatened species habitat.
Grain farmer Sheldon Jeffrey Dalton cleared the land on his Wallanthery property using machinery and fire, destroying habitat for malleefowl, a threatened bird. The 950 hectares is roughly equivalent to 570 Sydney Cricket Grounds.
Dalton admitted the clearing. He told the court he could not gather photographic evidence of regrowth efforts.
Police ordered him to stay indoors. Fugitive Julian Ingram had killed four people nearby in January.
Ingram was believed hiding in the region. Dalton had 40 years without environmental law breaches and expressed remorse.
Justice Sarah Pritchard ordered his offences published in important notices in several rural newspapers as a warning to other farmers.
- $225,000
- Fine amount
- 40 years without environmental breaches
- Clean history
Why it mattersThe heavy fine shows courts will penalise illegal land clearing strongly. This is true regardless of the farmer's intentions or past record.
AustraliaNSW farmers now face clear and costly consequences for destroying native vegetation; the ruling reinforces that environmental breaches carry major financial penalties.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 h ago
