John Gryphon
Well-Known Member
A smoking hot pinch this one.
In a significant judgment handed down by the County Court of Victoria, South Australian man Christopher Ross Long has been ordered to pay $120,000 in damages after illegally trespassing onto a Gippsland property and participating in the illegal hunting of hog deer. The court found Mr Long liable for two separate trespass incidents at Lake Reeve Ranch, resulting in both general and aggravated damages.
The Lake Reeve Ranch, owned by cattle farmer Neil Page and his partner Corrie De Visser, is a 3,000-acre property located between Ninety Mile Beach and the Gippsland Lakes. The couple has invested years of effort into managing the property to support a flourishing population of hog deer, attracting licensed hunters from across the globe through a Game Management Authority-approved management plan.
However, in December 2019 and again in December 2020, Mr Long was found to have unlawfully entered the property with at least one other person. On both occasions, the court accepted that hog deer were illegally shot, though it could not be conclusively proven that Mr Long himself pulled the trigger. Nevertheless, Judge Tran found that Mr Long was a “knowing participant” in poaching expeditions that directly interfered with the rights of Mr Page and Ms De Visser.
Mr Long’s actions were aggravated by his use of a rifle fitted with a suppressor, the covert nature of the trespass, and his subsequent boasting via social media and private messages. Notably, photos of Mr Long posing with dead deer taken on the Ranch and messages boasting of poaching were submitted as compelling evidence.
In response, Mr Page sought compensation for trespass, focusing on vindicating his right to control access to his land rather than claiming ownership over the deer themselves (which are classed as wild animals under Victorian law). While no direct financial loss was established, since the Ranch remains fully booked for legal hunts through to 2030, the court acknowledged Mr Long had wrongly appropriated the use of private land.
Judge Tran awarded $10,000 in general damages for the unauthorised use of the property, $5,000 for each trespass event. However, an additional $110,000 was awarded in aggravated and exemplary damages: $55,000 per trespass. These elevated penalties were intended both to compensate the landowners for the emotional impact and to punish Mr Long for conduct described as “callous, dangerous, and criminal.”
The judgment highlighted the fear and distress caused to Mr Page, Ms De Visser, and their family, particularly after discovering rotting carcasses of decapitated deer and learning Mr Long had boasted of the killings. The court was also critical of Mr Long’s dishonest use of artificial intelligence-generated legal cases in his defence submissions.
Judge Tran concluded the ruling with a stern message: trespass for the purposes of poaching, especially involving firearms, is a serious civil wrong deserving of strong punishment. The court's decision sends a clear signal that such conduct will not be tolerated, particularly where it undermines tightly regulated hunting systems and endangers others. The matter of legal costs remains to be decided.
In a significant judgment handed down by the County Court of Victoria, South Australian man Christopher Ross Long has been ordered to pay $120,000 in damages after illegally trespassing onto a Gippsland property and participating in the illegal hunting of hog deer. The court found Mr Long liable for two separate trespass incidents at Lake Reeve Ranch, resulting in both general and aggravated damages.
The Lake Reeve Ranch, owned by cattle farmer Neil Page and his partner Corrie De Visser, is a 3,000-acre property located between Ninety Mile Beach and the Gippsland Lakes. The couple has invested years of effort into managing the property to support a flourishing population of hog deer, attracting licensed hunters from across the globe through a Game Management Authority-approved management plan.
However, in December 2019 and again in December 2020, Mr Long was found to have unlawfully entered the property with at least one other person. On both occasions, the court accepted that hog deer were illegally shot, though it could not be conclusively proven that Mr Long himself pulled the trigger. Nevertheless, Judge Tran found that Mr Long was a “knowing participant” in poaching expeditions that directly interfered with the rights of Mr Page and Ms De Visser.
Mr Long’s actions were aggravated by his use of a rifle fitted with a suppressor, the covert nature of the trespass, and his subsequent boasting via social media and private messages. Notably, photos of Mr Long posing with dead deer taken on the Ranch and messages boasting of poaching were submitted as compelling evidence.
In response, Mr Page sought compensation for trespass, focusing on vindicating his right to control access to his land rather than claiming ownership over the deer themselves (which are classed as wild animals under Victorian law). While no direct financial loss was established, since the Ranch remains fully booked for legal hunts through to 2030, the court acknowledged Mr Long had wrongly appropriated the use of private land.
Judge Tran awarded $10,000 in general damages for the unauthorised use of the property, $5,000 for each trespass event. However, an additional $110,000 was awarded in aggravated and exemplary damages: $55,000 per trespass. These elevated penalties were intended both to compensate the landowners for the emotional impact and to punish Mr Long for conduct described as “callous, dangerous, and criminal.”
The judgment highlighted the fear and distress caused to Mr Page, Ms De Visser, and their family, particularly after discovering rotting carcasses of decapitated deer and learning Mr Long had boasted of the killings. The court was also critical of Mr Long’s dishonest use of artificial intelligence-generated legal cases in his defence submissions.
Judge Tran concluded the ruling with a stern message: trespass for the purposes of poaching, especially involving firearms, is a serious civil wrong deserving of strong punishment. The court's decision sends a clear signal that such conduct will not be tolerated, particularly where it undermines tightly regulated hunting systems and endangers others. The matter of legal costs remains to be decided.
