A convicted animal smuggler from Western Australia has been fined $17,000 for keeping native wildlife in his car after successfully appealing against an initial penalty of $45,000. Native snakes, skinks and a turtle were found in Niall Cooke’s vehicle during 2019 He was previously fined $45,000 for the offences but made a successful appeal  Cooke has a criminal history of more than 40 offences, including transporting protected animals In 2019, Niall Cooke and two others were driving along the Great Northern Highway in WA’s north when they were stopped by police and a Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DCBA) officer. In the centre console of Cooke’s vehicle, authorities found a black-headed python inside a pillowcase. Cooke said he found the animal at the Nanutarra Roadhouse, more than 1,250 kilometres north of Perth, and left it in the car for three days before it was seized by the DBCA officer. Four pygmy spiny-tailed skinks and a dinner plate turtle were found in the internal netting of a backpack. In the boot, a venomous Pilbara death adder was found in a cooking pot inside another backpack. Spiny-tailed skinks from the Pilbara seized by DBCA wildlife officers in a separate incident in Kalgoorlie. ( Perth: Anthony Stewart ) Cooke has a criminal history of animal smuggling, including more than 40 convictions, but in 2018 he told 7.30 he had turned his life around and wanted to expose the lucrative black market for Australian wildlife. Less than one year later, however, he was found with the turtle, snakes and skinks in his car. Cooke’s lawyers argued his intention was to take photographs of the animals and then release them. But in September last year, Magistrate Gavin MacLean fined Cooke $45,000 in the South Hedland Magistrates Court, saying he did not believe Cooke’s only intention was to photograph the animals. “The whole intention of taking these animals was to keep them and that’s the basis that he will be sentenced,” he told the court last year. Magistrate Maclean said if Cooke continued this behaviour, he should be charged with animal cruelty, which involved a potential prison term. A successful appeal Cooke appealed the case to the Supreme Court of WA, arguing the initial fines were excessive and the magistrate failed to consider the financial burden of payments. His appeal was successful this week, with Justice Amanda Forrester instead handing him a fine of $17,000 for taking and possessing native wildlife. Niall Cooke [second from left] has been working as a tour guide in the Kimberley region. ( Facebook: Niall Cooke ) She said the original fines were disproportionate to the overall seriousness of the offending. “There was no significant organisation to the offending, which appeared opportunistic,” Justice Forrester said. “The animals were not possessed for any commercial gain and they were not harmed. “One had been in the appellant’s possession for up to four days, but others had only been in his possession for one or two days.” Find more local news Browse for your location and find more local and information