On Monday an RSPCA special constable, accompanied by two Gunnedah police officers, served the 24N notice on the park’s owners, Nancy and Colin Small.

It set out a wide range of actions that needed to be taken by this Friday including the inclusion of a particular food supplement for the animals and some worm tablets.

Slater and Gordon Gunnedah practice group leader Peter Long, representing the Smalls, said it was, in effect, an “improvement” notice.

However, he said while the notice was served and specified what action needed to be undertaken to avoid contravention, it did not set out what the alleged contravention was, when it occurred or to what animal.

“The process is all back to front and very hard to explain,” he said.

“They are usually given by an officer as a ‘fix your game up and we’ll be back’ type thing.

“Well, at the time they removed the koalas they had never issued such a notice.”

The notice can be issued when an inspector is satisfied on reasonable grounds that a person has contravened a provision of the Act or the regulations in relation to an animal.

The inspector can give the person a notice in writing requiring the person to take such specified action in relation to the animal as the inspector considers necessary to avoid any further contravention.

Mr Long said in this case the Smalls were unaware of what, if anything, they did wrong.

“The thing is you can’t issue a notice until someone has contravened the Act and if they (the Smalls) have contravened the Act, the RSPCA don’t say what that is,” he said.

“I have never struck anything like this before.”

Mr Long has sought further detail on the alleged contravention from the RSPCA but has yet to receive a response.

The RSPCA did not respond to enquiries from The Leader yesterday.